The Backstory
by DanniB
Summary: Takes place within the game continuity of Fix-it Felix Jr. A story showing how Felix came to work at Niceland Apartments, how he got his hammer, and his first encounter with Ralph.
1. Chapter 1

Author note: This story takes place within the game continuity of Fix-It Felix Jr. and not the movie "Wreck-it Ralph." Disney still owns all the characters therein, except Tom.

The Backstory-

_This can't be the right guy._

Mayor Gene stood dumbfounded at the front desk of "Fix-it Felix and Son's Repair Services", staring at the awkward looking young man who had answered the bell. He had come here looking for the legendary Fix-it Felix, the greatest handyman known throughout the Tri-State area. Instead he was looking at a lanky, stick of a man, barely older then college aged, with scrawny arms that looked as if he'd barely lifted a hammer in his life.

"May I help you, sir?" The youth asked again with a cheerful, yet polite smile.

Gene cleared his throat and got right to business.

"We're here to speak with Fix-it Felix."

The young man's smile faded and his eyes cast down to his gloved hands. He twiddled his fingers nervously, the brim of his work cap now hiding his face.

"Um, He's…not with us…" He answered quietly. He lifted his head and met with Gene's stern and disapproving glare. Gulping, he tugged the collar of his work shirt and continued. "But, I'm his son. Fix-it Felix Junior, Sir." He performed a quick salute, his smile returning. "Maybe I can help."

Gene was silently looking him over. He hadn't come here for a Junior, not with the crisis he was facing.

"I don't think…" He started before suddenly being interrupted.

"Maybe he can." The man Gene had come in with finally spoke. Gene turned to his companion, a construction worker who until now had been completely silent. The young Felix hadn't even noticed him as the Mayor's presence had dominated the room from the moment he had walked in.

"Tom," Gene whispered to his friend, "He's a kid."

"He's a Fix-it," The yellow vested man corrected. "We should at least see what he can do."

Felix smiled at the offer, puffing out his puny chest with pride.

"Well, I may not be my Pop sir, but he taught me everything I know."

Gene looked between Felix Jr.'s dopy, hopeful smile and his short friend's serious expression. He sighed.

"Okay, fine." He resigned and turned back to the boy. "We need someone to take on, well…" he carefully chose his words "what could be a long term project."

"Oh. Okay." Felix nodded, gesturing for these potential clients to step into his office and take a seat. Gene did not sit, but continued speaking.

"You see, I'm the Mayor of a little town called Niceland. We just finished construction on our first, of what should be many, small, economical apartment buildings."

"Well, Congratulations." Felix interrupted cheerfully. The Mayor's expression however, was anything but matching.

"We've hit a snag in our plans though." Gene continued, a tinge of annoyance in his voice. "Something's holding up continuing construction in the area, and scaring away potential residents."

"A snag?" Felix sat up straight in his chair, cocking his head quizzically.

"Vandalism." Tom answered.

"Vandalism? Devastation is more like it!" Gene strongly corrected him. "Wanton destruction, that's what it is!" He turned to Felix with an angry glare. "That heathen's set back construction prospects for months!"

"Heathen?" Felix questioned.

"Ralph." Said Tom.

"Wreck-it Ralph!" Gene expanded, as if the additional part of the name would give Felix any more clarity to the situation. "We showed him the paperwork. Imminent Domain. We own the land!"

"Ralph's convinced the land's still his." Tom added.

Felix frowned, feeling very out of the loop.

"He doesn't own anything!" Gene continued ranting, "He's squatting on _our_ land! And living in that _stump _does _not_ mean the land is his."

"Stump, sir?" Felix tried desperately to make sense of all this.

"We moved his stump." Tom replied. "That's when this whole mess started."

"And now every night it's the same thing; 'My stump!', 'My land!', 'I'm gonna wreck it!'" Gene finished, letting himself catch his breath.

Felix placed his head in his hands and shook it slowly, letting all the information sink in. From what he could gather, the Niceland Apartments were under attack by the previous land owner, some wayward fellow named Ralph.

"Jiminy-Jaminy," he muttered before looking up, "Sounds like one doozy of a misunderstanding you have there. But, wouldn't the police…"

"The police are _afraid _of him!" Gene cut him off. "He's already scared off the police, several prospective and current Niceland residents, and _all_ of the construction crew except Tom here."

"I drive the bulldozer." Tom added.

"They're all scared, and for good reason." Gene continued. "Wreck-it Ralph is more _monster_ than man."

"He's nine feet tall. Has a bad temper."

"He leaves a path of destruction everywhere he goes."

"He probably weighs a ton, and I doubt he ever bathes."

"And those_ hands!_ They're bigger then his HEAD! He's a freak of nature!"

"He's a _force_ of nature."

"And that is why we came here." Gene concluded, wandering around to the back of the desk and placing an arm around Felix's shoulder, ignoring the now petrified look on the young man's face. "We need Fix-it Felix to clean up the mess that Ralph makes every night. Once Ralph sees that we're not backing down, He'll give up and find someplace else to terrorize."

Felix blinked at him, wide-eyed with shock. He could only muster out a single

"Golly…"

The Mayor's composure had returned, as if they had been talking about something as mundane as the weather.

"I'm sure someone with a talent like your dad's could keep up with our Ralph. So, when do you think your old man will be returning?"

Felix lowered his head again, softly pulling away from Gene and standing.

"I'm sorry." His voice was quiet. "I think you misunderstood me. When I said my Pop wasn't here…" he removed his cap and held it to his chest, his blue eyes moist with forming tears. "I'm afraid he's…passed on."

"What?! When?" Gene spouted in disbelief.

"It was recent, sir." Felix's voice wavered, "His ticker, it…was something that couldn't be fixed…" He trailed off, trying not to burst into tears in front of these men. "I do miss him something awful though…" It was all too much to bear. This request to fix an entire apartment building while avoiding some sort of man-beast was the largest task anyone had asked for since his father's passing. Usually after telling the client his father was gone and receiving their condolences, he'd take on the job himself with a minimum of heartbreak that he could keep contained. But the enormity of this particular task and the obvious need these poor people were in, the lack of the old man's guidance weighed heavily on him. He covered his eyes with his forearm to soak up the tears flowing down his face.

Gene rolled his eyes. _Great, our last hope is dead, and we're left with his crybaby son._ He looked again at the boy, who was doing his best to compose himself. Gene decided with a sigh that he shouldn't be so insensitive. The kid just lost his father, after all.

"Look, Kid. We're sorry for your loss." He crossed his arms and huffed out a short breath. "It's our loss too. Without Fix-it Felix and his Magic Hammer, we're sunk."

The younger Felix wiped his eyes and replaced his cap. He then reached for something on his tool belt.

"You mean _this_ hammer?"

Gene looked down at the shimmering tool the young man held. The mythical Magic Hammer, the mysterious relic said to have the ability to fix anything ever broken, to repair even the most irreparable damage with a single strike.

"You…you have it." The Mayor stammered, mesmerized by the glimmering, golden tool.

Felix grasped the Hammer loosely in his hand.

"Yes sir, my Pop, he bequeathed it to me." He held it close to his chest, his eyes getting misty again. "It was his dying wish that I use it to carry on the family business."

Gene took the opportunity to spring into action; this was the prize he had been searching for, the solution to his problems.

"Well, what better way to fulfill your late father's dream then by taking on such an important responsibility?" He placed his arm again around Felix's shoulder. "You'll be helping out a lot of desperate people, give them hope. This is your chance to shine."

Felix stared at the Hammer, thinking it over.

"Golly, I would like to help. It just sounds like an awful big job, and my skills don't hold a candle to my Pop."

"What better way to gain experience then? It will be a lot of steady work." Gene urged him with a warm smile. "We're even willing to put you up in one of our best apartments, rent free. That includes utilities."

Felix's eyes widened.

"Jeepers, that's mighty generous of you."

"All you'd have to do is perform the usual maintenance. Leaky pipes, drafty windows, creaky doors…and whatever structural damage Ralph occasionally causes." Gene caught Felix's expression falter at the mention of the menace. "Oh! Don't you worry about Ralph, he hasn't actually hurt anyone…yet…but you can think of him as job security. And besides, once he sees your work, he'd be crazy to stick around for long anyway."

"Well, if I'd just be fixing what he breaks…" The handyman mulled it over hesitantly.

"And you'd be coming to work for the nicest little place in the tri-state area."

"At least, that's what the bill-board says." Said Tom. Gene flashed him an angered look before turning back to Felix.

"It _will _be once we have you on board, my boy. Here's my card, in case you still need to think it over. Although, how could the son of Fix-It Felix turn down such a great opportunity to help those in need?"

Gene passed Felix a small white card embossed with the words, "Mayor Gene, Mayor of Niceland."

"We could have some made up for you too, if you'd like."

"Yeah, I mean, I'll think about it." Felix pocketed the card and shook the shorter man's hand with a smile.

"Of course," Gene said confidently. "This means I can return to Niceland and let all those wonderful residents, in dire need of a handyman, that there is a Fix-It considering coming to work for us."

Felix gazed down at the Hammer again, looking more certain than before. Tom stood up, rolling his eyes at how Gene was working this kid over so slickly.

"So, I'll be expecting a call from you soon then?"

"Oh, yes sir!" Felix nodded, looking up with a grin, trying his best to still look professional, despite his previous emotional outburst. "And you have a mighty fine day."

They shook hands again and Gene headed out the door, Tom following. Once Felix had escorted them from the building, Tom turned to Gene and asked,

"I thought you weren't going to go for a Junior."

Gene only flashed Tom a wide smile.

"Junior, Senior, who cares? He has the Hammer. That's all that matters."

[To be continued]


	2. Chapter 2

Author notes: This part took longer to write than anticipated as it took me some time to figure out just how to write Felix's dad. Plus all the Senior/Junior stuff was a bit confusing on paper. It is the first time I've written anything were two characters in one scene have the same name.

Chapter 2

Once alone Felix sat back down at his desk and again stared at the Hammer. He could see his reflection in the shiny surface and he took a deep sigh.

"Well, Pop." He said aloud, "Looks like I gotta big job ahead of me." He laid the tool on the desk as his eyes wandered to a photograph on his right. It was of him and his father from a few years ago. It was taken the day the Older Felix had given his namesake the wonderful gift of adding "and Son" to "Fix-It Felix Repair Services". It had been a gesture that filled the young man with the greatest joy. He had been assisting his father for years prior, but to be given such recognition, he had been beaming like a lightning bug in July for weeks after that day.

They had always been a small business. With a magic hammer that could fix anything, a large crew of contractors was never needed. So when his father had offered him a job at his side when he was starting High School, weekends at first and full-time once he graduated, he had been confused. With the Hammer, Pop had never needed an assistant, but to be learning the family trade from his father was an immense honor and he had jumped at the opportunity. He wouldn't trade that decision for anything. The years working along side his father were the best he could remember. Starting out in the small town he had grown up in, learning the simple techniques on how to replace broken windows, repair broken door hinges, lay brick, set tile, all the basics any handyman worth his tool belt should know.

He had been surprised to see his father didn't use the Hammer as much as he had been expecting. Sure, the older Fix-It did use it occasionally on the bigger repair jobs, like the time Old man Wozniack accidently drove his Chevy through the door of his garage, but mostly he spent their jobs as a father teaching his son the ins and outs of the repairman business through hands on example. Felix grew to appreciate all his father taught him, but it was still a presence in his mind to wonder why his father would openly choose to do the jobs the hard way instead of the way that had made him so famous in their small community. He got his answer on the one day that would be embedded in his memory forever.

It had started with a repair job on a roof that had been damaged by a fallen tree during a recent storm. Along with the gaping hole that took up a large portion of the roof, several layers of asphalt singles had been broken or scraped off, there was a cracked skylight window and the 100 year old oak itself still leaning on the side of the house. After using their truck and a length of chain to pull the tree off the house, they divided the work needed and started repairs.

Felix was on one side of the roof, replacing some broken shingles while his Pop was on the other side, mending the hole the mighty Oak had left in Mrs. Steven's home. The damage had been so bad, that Felix didn't see his father hesitate to pull the Hammer from his tool belt. At the hole's periphery, the Hammer came down in quick, deliberate strikes. Each time it hit, there was a flash of golden light and a portion of the hole was filled in. Felix had been so intrigued by his father's work that he had stopped paying attention to the trajectory of his own hammer and instead of the roofing nail, the tool struck his hand.

The sudden yelp of pain from his son pulled Felix Senior's attention away from his work. He looked over the hole and saw his son shaking the sting from his hand.

"Everything alright there son?" He called.

Felix Junior looked up, his face flushing with embarrassment.

"Uh, yeah Pop. I'm okay." He flexed his sore hand. It would bruise, but it wasn't worth fussing over.

"Are you sure?" His father got to his feet and stepped over for a closer look. "Cause I could always…" He held up the Hammer. Felix frowned.

"Pa, I'm okay, really." He remembered all those times as a little boy running to his dad with a skinned knee or a bumped head gained from the regular roughhousing young boys are prone to do, only to have it all healed up with a tap from the Hammer. Fine when he was six, but he was a grown man now and didn't need his father magically "kissing" his boo-boos anymore.

"Something on your mind, Junior? Your strikes are usually more spot on then that." The older man's voice was tinged with concern. Felix sighed; his father could always read him. He gazed downward and confessed,

"Well, Pop, y'know I only see you use the Hammer every once in a while, on the big jobs n' all. And I know you told me you didn't wanna use it so much so that I could learn from you, but…That Hammer's your legacy. It's what you're famous for. I feel like I'm holdin' you back and I don't wanna slow you down just cause I'm such a novice."

He looked up and saw his father smiling, the wrinkles around his eyes crinkling as he did. Senior knelt down to be at level with his son and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Son, you're no novice. Every day I see you getting better at what you do. I just want to savor every moment we get to work together." He saw his son smiling up at him and gave the Hammer a thoughtful glance. "And at my age, sometimes slowing down is a good thing." His eyes stayed on the Hammer another moment, as if deciding something. Suddenly he flipped the Hammer over, holding it by its head, and offered the handle to his protégé. "You know what son; I think you're ready to give this baby a try."

Baby blue eyes widened with disbelief.

"Pop, I…are you sure?"

His father only smiled.

"It's your legacy too, Son. It's about time I started teaching you how to use it."

Felix tentatively reached out, as if fearing the Hammer would pull itself away and deem him unworthy. As his hand closed around the handle, he felt a rush of excitement surge through him. His father let go of the other end and he felt the Hammer's full weight. It wasn't as heavy as a tool made of gold should have been, but that was all part of the magic. It was hefty and well balanced, its golden leather grip was comfortable and seemed perfectly made for his hand.

He stared at it, awestruck. As a little boy he would playfully try to tug it out of his father's tool belt, mimicking the old man's catchphrase, "I'll fix it!" He'd always be thwarted by his dad with a pat on the head and a simple, "Maybe when you're older, son."

That promised time was now.

Shaking him from his shock was the feeling of his dad placing a hand around his arm and pulling him to stand and follow him to what was left of the hole in Mrs. Steven's roof. They kneeled at the edge and his father began his instruction.

"Now, aim for the very edge and give it a nice firm whack."

Felix nodded. Swallowing hard he raised his arm all the way up. Before he could release his strike his father suddenly gripped his wrist and held him back.

"Whoa there tiger! No need to pound the roofing tar out of it." He guided Felix's arm lower to a more reasonable height. "There. Now, just like you were hammering in a nail."

His cheeks warm with embarrassment, Felix exhaled and refocused. When his father let go, he gave the broken section of roof a strong tap. A spark of golden light shot out across the empty space, and in its wake new roof filled in. All his embarrassment and reservations melted away. He had actually done it.

"Jiminy-Jaminy." He smiled.

"Atta-boy." his father pat him on the back. "Keep going."

His heart leaping with joy, Felix continued tapping at the roof. Each blow filling the hole in a little more. He was so happy he felt like laughing.

"There you go," Senior smiled "You're a natural."

It did feel natural; every movement felt like he had been doing it for years. His muscles knowing just how hard to strike, the Hammer feeling like a part of his body. Before he knew it, the hole was completely gone. Framework, underlayment, tar and tile all restored and repaired, just the way the roof had been before the storm. Felix ran his hand over his handwork, almost expecting it to cave in at the slightest pressure. But his work was solid, he had done it.

"I fixed it." He grinned ear to ear looking up at his father standing over him.

"That's my boy." The old man answered.

Felix got to his feet, gave his repair job one last look over his shoulder and held the hammer out to his father. He was surprised to see the man raise his hand up in a gesture of refusal.

"You're not done yet son." He said, nodding his head over to the other side of the roof. "That skylight window needs to be handled next."

Felix's heart leapt up into his throat.

"You want me to…"

"You're doing a swell job, Junior. I'm not going to stop you now."

Felix felt like he could leap ten feet high in the air.

"Oh wow, Dad! Jiminy-Cricket, thanks!"

He hopped over to the skylight, floating on Cloud 9. Not only had his father let him use the Hammer, but now he was trusting him with letting him finish their job with it. He examined the long crack running down the recessed glass. Out of the corner of his eye he could see his father strain to lift a package of roofing tiles that hadn't been opened.

"I suppose with you on the job, we won't be needing these." He got the package settled over his shoulder with a grunt and carried it towards the ladder.

Felix was fit to burst with all the joy and pride he was feeling right now. He wanted to show his father that all his good faith wasn't being wasted. He was going to do the best gosh-darned job ever to prove it. Of course, with the Hammer, doing a good job was effortless. One good whack and the crack in the glass filled with a golden glow, then vanished.

That done, he sauntered over to the broken bits of asphalt singles he had been working on earlier. No need to replace them now. He was about to get to hammering the area when he heard a sudden thump hit the ground. Peering over the edge of the roof, he saw his father hunched over by their truck.

He had dropped the package of tiles and was gripping his chest.

"Pop? Pop!" Felix yelled down. Acting on instinct he slipped the Hammer into his tool belt and ran to the ladder. He slid down the rungs as fast as he could and jumped the last few feet when that wasn't fast enough for him. In moments he was at his father's side.

Everything after that moment passed through Felix's mind as a blur. Trying to figure out what was wrong, banging on Mrs. Steven's front door and begging her to call an ambulance, riding along with the paramedics and trying his darnedest to understand what they were saying.

He was now sitting in a hallway in the hospital, waiting for someone to tell him what was going on. Finally, after an hour that had dragged on forever, a nurse approached and gave him the news that struck him dumb. It had been a heart attack.

"He's very weak, but he's awake and he wants to see you." The nurse told him, guiding him into the small room where his father lay in the bed, propped up with pillows. The soft beeps of the heart monitor filled the otherwise soundless room. Felix stood at his father's bedside and the nurse closed the door behind her as she left.

"Hey, Pop." Felix smiled, not sure what else to say. He was just happy his dad was still with him.

"I'm sorry I gave you such a fright, son." The old man looked up at him with tired eyes. He pulled over a chair and sat to be at eye level with his dad.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like Mrs. Steven's hundred-year old oak hit me instead of her roof." His father managed a smile. Felix reached over then took the man's hand.

"But, you'll be okay now." He smiled back, "The doctors will make you right as rain in no time."

He saw his father look away, drifting into his thoughts.

"Maybe…" his words stopped when he saw his son starting to cry. "Junior, it'll be all right."

"This…it's my fault." Felix hung his head, sniffling.

"What? No."

"It is. I saw you tryin' to lift that heavy bag. I shoulda stopped to help." He felt his father squeeze his hand reassuringly.

"Son, it wasn't your fault. You didn't know what was going to happen." Senior sighed slowly and frowned. "If anything, this was my fault." Felix shook his head, not believing.

"No."

"It is, Son. I knew this day was coming."

Felix looked up, confused.

"How?"

"I've always had a weak heart. Gotten worse over the years. Now, I coulda taken better care of myself. Coulda taken it easy and the like but, I'm too set in my ways I suppose."

Felix felt his face growing hot with all the emotions bubbling up inside him.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" He questioned.

"I didn't want you to worry." He father brushed a tear off his reddening cheek. "I know you're a worrier just like your mother, rest her soul, and I didn't want to trouble you like that. Especially when there was nothing you could do about it."

"But I coulda done something." Felix protested. "I coulda taken care of you, Pop. I coulda asked you to use the Hammer more so you wouldn't hafta strain yourself. I coulda…"

"You woulda spent all your time worrying about me and not living your life." His father interrupted.

Felix sniffled. As much as he hated to admit it, his dad was right. The old man stared into space for a moment, then turned back to his son.

"Do you still have the Hammer?"

Felix's eyes widened. The Hammer was indeed at his side, sitting innocuously in his tool belt. He had completely forgotten it was there. A sudden burst of hope filled him. He had the Hammer, he knew how to use it. He quickly pulled it out yelling,

"Yes, yes I do!"

Without another thought, he held it up over his father, ready to strike it down. But the old man quickly held out his hands to stop him.

"No, Son. Stop." His voice was soft and serious. "That won't work. I know you want to help, but this isn't something the Hammer can fix."

Felix paused in his awkward position, then slowly, as his father's words sank in, he lowered his arm and settled back down in his chair. He rested the Hammer on the bed and took his dad's hand again.

"Felix, I need you to listen to me."

He was definitely listening. His father only called him by his real name when he was being absolutely serious about something.

"I don't want you to ever think that this Hammer is going to fix all of your problems. Now, it's good for fixing a lot of things, but it can't fix _everything._ You'll learn there are things you'll need to fix using your smarts and your wits. In the end, the Hammer is only a tool. And a tool is only as good as the man using it."

Felix nodded. He wanted to say something, but his throat felt tight. He could only muster out a few squeaks. He felt his dad guiding his hand over the Hammer. Instinctively he grasped it and picked it up. It glimmered in the artificial light of the room.

"I know you'll use it well." His father continued. "It's yours now, Son."

"No." Felix stammered, not liking what his father's tone of voice was implying. "Pop…" A knot was forming in his stomach and his throat tightened up again.

"You're a smart boy, and you have a good heart, in more ways than one. You get that from your mother too."

With tears blurring his vision, Felix gazed at the Hammer again sitting in his hands. It would mean more to him now than just a magical tool. He pressed it to his chest before slipping it back into his tool belt. He saw his father smile, seeing that his legacy was properly passed on.

"You take care of it now." His dad ordered, "It's because of that Hammer that I was able to woo your mother. Without it, I wouldn't have you." Their eyes connected. A father gazing up at his son, so full of pride and wonder at how his little boy had grown up to be such a fine young man . "The two of you were a finer treasure then any fame or fortune the Hammer could have ever brought me."

The moment was broken when the old man started coughing. Felix leaned over, trying to help him get more comfortable.

"Dad, take it easy." He pleaded. But his father still had things he needed to say.

"Son, promise me something." He reached up and stroked the boy's face again. His son took his arm and hugged it. "When I got that Hammer, I knew that it was a great responsibility. Promise me, you'll use it to help the people that need it most."

"I promise." Felix answered softly. He knew in his heart he could never think to use the Hammer for anything else. His father smiled.

"You make me proud, Son."

"I love you, Dad."

"I love you too…"

The old man's eyes began to close. Felix could feel his arm slacken and fall away from his face. The heart monitor began screeching a monotonous tone. Felix's heart jolted with panic.

"Pop! No! No! Daddy…" He crumbled over the body, sobs flowing from him like a broken faucet. It took two nurses to pry him off.

The last time he had been at a funeral, it had been his mother's. Now he was burying another parent. He was completely alone now. No other family; both sets of grandparents had passed on years ago and both parents had been only children.

His father had been so beloved by the community that he hadn't needed to drop a single penny in expenses on the funeral, the burial, or the small wake afterwards. Everyone had donated something as a way to thank their most favorite handyman and to take the stress off the son who now could focus on grieving.

The neighbors had been kind; visiting often to pay their respects, give him some company or to drop off a casserole. But after a few weeks had passed everything began to reset and life went on like normal, with the exception of him going to work alone and coming home to an empty house.

Going on jobs were neither a reminder, nor a distraction, but a compulsion. He needed to keep working or be swallowed by grief. He took solace in the thing he loved doing most, fixing things, helping people, seeing their faces after doing a job well done. As timed passed, the pain lessened, but the absence could always be felt; in the lonely truck rides to jobsites, in the clients he had to deliver the sad news too, in every person who asked him,

"How are you doing these days?"

Or said, "I'm sorry for your loss."

Or, "He was a good man."

He loved his home town and all the people in it, but he was starting to feel he couldn't stay here without there always being some reminder of what was missing.

Now, sitting at his desk he began thinking about his situation. Perhaps Niceland was the opportunity he needed to move forward. Some new surroundings and a fresh start to forge his own path away from the large shadow his father had left him in. He never wanted to forget his father, never carried any spite for the old man's fame, but still he felt he needed a separation from his past in if he wanted to fulfill his promise to truly help people to the best of his ability.

Running his fingers over the Hammer, he remembered what Mayor Gene had told him; the people of Niceland needed a handyman and if they were in truly the dire straights he had described, no other handyman could be up to snuff other than a Fix-it.

He picked up the Hammer and slid it into his tool belt, the pull of destiny clear to him. He took the business card from his pocket and dialed the phone.

[To be continued]


	3. Chapter 3

[Author's note] This chapter was originally intended to be much longer, but I felt this was a good place to stop once I got here. But don't worry. I'll get to Ralph's first appearance soon.

In two weeks time he was in his truck, with all his belongings packed, on his way to Niceland. He had originally felt he would need a month before making this trip, with the need to close down his father's shop, sell his childhood home and let the community know he was leaving. But once he was on the phone with the Mayor, Gene had somehow hoodwinked him into cutting his estimated time of arrival in half.

It hadn't been an easy change to make, but he didn't want to let down his new employer by dawdling on the details. So he put an announcement in the local paper to let people know "Fix-it Felix and Son's" was going out of business. He finished up the remaining jobs he had promised to do, working overtime to get them all done. He called a realtor to help him sell the two properties his father had left him, though he felt bad he now wouldn't get the chance to meet the family that would buy the house, or find out what business would take over his father's shop. Neighbors had volunteered to help him pack his necessities and sell whatever was left, all while trying fruitlessly to convince him to change his mind about leaving.

"I'll miss this place too, but I've been dominating the handyman racket here long enough." He'd use as his excuse. "Time to give someone else a time in the spotlight."

They sent him off with tearful goodbyes the day he left. There'd be a lot he'd miss; all the childhood memories, neighbors he knew like family, children waving to him in the streets as he passed on the way to jobs. In the back of his mind he thought, perhaps, one day he'd return, even if just for a visit.

After a long drive upstate, he finally arrived on a small road leading towards a heavily wooded area. Double checking his directions to make sure he was in the right place, he continued up the road until he came to a bill-board advertising the Niceland Apartment building. The sign showed an artists rendering of a happy family standing outside a lavish red-brick building. In the corner of the sign a banner had been pasted up reading "More apartments coming soon." Beneath it the was more text, probably a date, but Felix couldn't make it out as it had been plastered over several times by other banners, each having a new, later, date poking out from under the one pasted over it. The newest, visible date was two years from now.

Felix regarded this a moment before going ahead down the road. Minutes later he could see the towering Niceland building approaching from the distance. Poking up over the dense tree line, it was much taller than he thought. About twelve stories high, crowned with a large penthouse with a small balcony overseeing the property. As he got closer, the wooded area opened up into a large clearing dotted with well manicured trees and bushes. Following the road he came to a fork. Going to the left would take him to the building. On the right, he could see a long strip of road lined with abandoned construction vehicles and supplies, obviously the area reserved for those future apartment buildings. As he drove closer to the building he could begin to make out the details…and the damage.

His eyes widened to see window shutters hanging off their hinges, ready to fall off with the right gust of wind. Everywhere, bricks were knocked loose from the façade. Concrete overhangs cracked and crumbled and nearly every single window was shattered. Beside the building was a bright yellow bulldozer, Tom's mostly likely. Further out however, a good distance away, was a large mound of debris. It was mostly a huge pile of bricks with scattered bits of wood and glass, next to which was a little sign that from where he was he could barely make out it read, "dump". It could have been any pile of trash, undistinguishable from any other found on a construction site, except for one thing sitting smack dab in the middle of it.

A stump.

Ralph's stump.

Felix swallowed, suddenly reminded of the reason for all the destruction he had been called in to fix. He looked back up at the building, taking in all he saw. Was all of this really the work of one man? He pulled the truck up onto a grassy area next to the building where he had seen other cars, found a reasonable spot and parked.

He sat in the truck for a few moments to gather his thoughts. This was it. No turning back now. He had a promise to keep. He absentmindedly rubbed the head of the Hammer with his thumb, a habit he had developed shortly after his father's death. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of yelling coming from the building.

Looking out the window he spotted Mayor Gene following a well dressed woman out the front double doors of the building. She was carrying three large suitcases.

"Won't you please consider?" The Mayor pleaded. "The specialist I hired should be arriving today. He'll take care of everything, I'm positive."

The woman didn't even give him a backwards glance.

"I'm through with your empty promises, Gene." She scoffed. "I think I've been patient enough. Last night was the last straw."

The sound of a truck door slamming caught both their attentions. Seeing Felix appear from around the vehicle caused Gene's face to brighten up considerably.

"Ah! Here he is now. See? You can meet him yourself." He quickly ushered her towards the truck, causing her to drop a suitcase along the way. "Felix, good to see you arrive so early, my boy."

Felix gave a quick handyman salute.

"Thought I'd get started bright and early, sir."

"Felix, this is Deanna, one of our residents." He gestured to the woman with one hand before placing a proud arm around the young man. "Deanna, may I introduce you to Fix-it Felix."

Deanna's eyes widened brightly.

"_The_ Fix-it Felix?" She smiled, fiddling with her clothes to look more presentable, dropping her remaining bags to the ground. "I can't believe you're actually here! And here I thought Gene was just blowing hot air again as usual."

Felix smiled awkwardly, fidgeting with his hands.

"Actually ma'am, it's Fix-it Felix _Junior_. But still, it's mighty nice to meet you." He held out his hand to her, but she didn't take it. Instead her expression fell to surprised, then anger, glaring at Gene."

"Junior?" The harshness of her tone made it apparent to Felix that the Mayor had been announcing his arrival while conveniently "forgetting" to include the suffix to his name.

Gene chuckled nervously a moment, trying to recover from his mistake.

"Oh, what's that 'Junior' matter anyway? He's learned everything he knows from the original. Isn't that right Felix?"

"Yes sir." Felix helpfully answered.

"And he's got the Magic Hammer with him. How's that for credentials?"

Deanna looked Felix over, deciding whether or not to buy into all this.

"You have the Magic Hammer?" She asked, her mood lightening with curiosity.

"Yes, Ma'am." He pulled it from his tool belt for her to see. She swooned upon seeing its golden glimmer.

"My goodness, it's so shiny. And it really works?"

"Why don't you give her demonstration, my good boy?" Gene suggested before Felix could even open his mouth. He felt himself getting pushed away from the truck towards the building. He certainly wanted to make a good first impression on one of the people he'd be tending to on this assignment, so why not show off his skills a little? He gave Gene a quick glance and smiled as Deanna watched him with eager eyes.

"Well, okay sure!"

He walked closer to the building, thinking about what to fix first. Strolling up the path he noticed the sidewalk beneath him was terribly cracked, like something very heavy had landed on the cement. Kneeling forward he gave the ground a quick tap and with a flash of gold, the cracks mended and the sidewalk was once again a solid slab.

"Oh, Heavens!" Deanna gasped, marveling at Felix's work. "Young man, you are a gift!" She gave him a quick hug, causing him to blush and dangle the Hammer at his side sheepishly.

"Gene, I owe you an apology." She turned to the Mayor who was smiling at her reaction.

"Does that mean you'll stay?" he asked hopefully.

"Well, I suppose so." She said after a moment of thought. "If Felix really is staying."

Felix was still blushing from being called a "gift." He was already liking this place.

"I'll be here as long as there's fixin' to be done ma'am." He smiled with a tip of his cap.

"Then I guess I'll be seeing you around for quite a while then." She grinned and went to retrieve her bags.

"Oh, let me help you with those." Felix jogged to her side and picked up the larger of her suitcases.

"Oh, and he's a gentleman too. You really found a winner this time, Gene."

In a move not to be upstaged, Gene grabbed a suitcase as well and carried it inside. Felix held the door for them, and in doing so noticed the door was loose on its hinges.

Once again his eyes wandered up the building wondering just how much damage he'd really be dealing with. He glanced at the brick pile and its lonely stump. Slowly, he started scanning the area but there was no one visibly around.

Where was Ralph, he wondered.

[To be continued]


	4. Chapter 4

[Chapter 4]

After escorting Deanna back to her apartment, as well as a quick repair of her smashed in front window, Felix was shown his own apartment. It was a large two-room, already furnished, with a full bath and a small kitchen that opened into a roomy living space with a couch and a TV. The smaller room had been set up to be used as an office with a desk and filing cabinet.

"And it has spacious closets for your clothes, belongings, other tools…if you have any other tools." Gene said while concluding the tour.

It was impressive; Felix hadn't been expecting such a plush apartment for a simple handyman job.

"Golly, it sure is nice." He turned to Gene, "Are you sure it isn't too much? I wouldn't make a fuss if it were smaller."

Gene waved him off.

"It nothing really, we wanted the best for our V.I.P."

"V.I.P.? Jaminy, but I haven't done anything yet."

"Ah, but it's what you're going to do that we're excited about. You, my good boy, have potential." He gave Felix a reassuring pat on the back. "Oh, and one more thing." He disappeared into the bedroom and emerged with a blue bundle. Unfurling it, he presented Felix with a brand new work shirt. "To make it official."

Felix took the short sleeved button-down shirt silently. It was a simple cotton shirt, with a patch over the left breast with his name stitched out on it, but it filled him with pride. Looking up from the shirt, he saw Gene was holding out a ring with several jangling keys on it.

"And here are the keys to every maintenance room and the master key for all the apartments in the building." He took a moment to explain which keys were for where, including the subbasement, the boiler room, and the roof access, then he dropped the keys into Felix's gloved hand. "You have the run of the show now."

"Uh, thank you." Felix stammered, "Thank you very much Mister Mayor."

They shook hands vigorously.

"Oh, call me Gene, everyone here does. And if there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask. I live just one floor above you."

"You live here?" Felix was surprised. He had been expecting the mayor of a small town to be living in a large mansion, not a crumbling apartment building along with the ordinary folk.

"As a gesture of good faith. If Niceland is good enough for the Mayor, imagine how great it must be for everyone else."

Felix nodded in agreement, then he remembered something.

"Wait, isn't the next floor up the Penthouse?"

Gene only smiled.

"I'll leave you to get settled in." He marched to the door. "Welcome to Niceland, Felix." He said before leaving.

Felix brought up his boxes and unpacked, quickly learning that he had more space than he had belongings. He had hung all his work and casual clothes and even his formal attire and still the closet in the bedroom was only halfway full. He had hung his family photos in the bedroom and office, but several walls were still bare save for the wall paper. By the time he was done unpacking, it was noon.

The only thing he hadn't put away was the blue work shirt, now laying out on his freshly made new bed. Remembering briefly the damage outside, he had planed on getting started at fixing it as soon as possible. Might as well look the part. After removing the yellow shirt that bore his father's company logo, he tried on the new uniform. It fit perfectly.

Admiring his new look in the mirror, he heard a knock at the door.

"Coming!" he called making his way across the apartment. Opening the door he was greeted by a stout woman holding a covered dish. "Well, howdy neighbor." He smiled.

The woman smiled warmly up at him.

"Oh, hi there. You must be the new repairman."

"Yes, ma'am I am."

She glanced downward, looking a little bashful.

"I just wanted to welcome you to the building. My name's Mary.'

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mary. I'm Felix." He made a motion to shake her hand, but upon noticing her arms occupied by the dish he awkwardly stuck his hand behind his back instead. "Um, would you like to come in?"

"Oh, okay." She crossed the threshold and handed Felix the dish. "I just came over to give you these." Removing the tea towel that had been covering the dish she unveiled a dozen or so expertly decorated sugar cookies.

"Goodness, that's very kind of you. Thanks."

Mary shifted, looking shamed.

"I usually bake a pie for newcomers, but I didn't know you were coming today. So, this was all I was able to whip up on such short notice. I hope you don't mind."

"No, it's alright," He assured her, "These look wonderful, and you baked them yourself?"

She smiled again.

"Oh, I dabble. Cakes, pies, pastries, all my hobby." She watched eagerly as he took a bite of one. His eyes lit up with delight; they were delicious.

"Mmm, just like my Grammy used to make."

"You're just saying that." She blushed.

"No Ma'am, it's the honest truth." He placed the dish on his kitchen counter and continued to finish off the cookie.

"I'm just so glad you're here. It took so long to replace the last repairman after he left, I was afraid I would have to move."

Felix swallowed.

"The last handyman left?"

"Oh yes, a shame really. He was only here for a week, and the one before him only lasted a day."

Felix suddenly lost his appetite.

"Uh, if you don't mind my asking, how many handymen have been here before me?"

Mary took a moment to think.

"Well, since I've been living here, three."

"And how long have you been living here?"

"Hmm, about a month."

The shock settled in his stomach like a lump. It must have been evident on his face as Mary looked sheepishly back at him.

"Oh dear, I hope I haven't spooked you. I do have an awful habit of saying too much."

"Oh, no, it's okay, really." He assured her, nervously playing with the cuff of his glove. He tried to push his jitters away by thinking about how much the Nicelanders needed his help.

"Um, maybe I should go." Mary excused herself, edging towards the door. "You can return the dish whenever you're done with it. It was nice to meet you Felix. Good luck." She closed the door behind her softly.

Three repairmen in one month? And one only lasted a day? Felix paced the floor, one hand fidgeting with the head of the Hammer in his belt.

"Come on Felix, don't let this get to you." He told himself "Everyone is counting on you. You gave Gene your word." He took a deep breath, stopping his pacing and trying to calm down. "It can't be as bad as you think. You haven't even seen Ralph yet."

He glanced out a window. He had a good view of the brick pile from here. There was still no sign of the wrecker anywhere.

"Can't turn tail just because some other handymen couldn't cut the mustard. There's a whole building that needs fixing, and you're the one to do it." He pulled out the Hammer and gave it a determined glare. Those other handymen may have been scared off, but they didn't have _this_ Hammer. He couldn't turn away. What would his father say if he did? With that thought in his mind, he knew what he had to do.

"You're a Fix-It, and a Fix-It fixes it!"

After his private pep talk, Felix found himself outside standing before the dilapidated building. It was a tall order; every level had some type of extensive damage that baffled him as to how Ralph could have managed to get up that high to do it. Around the corner he heard a door slam. Peeking over, he saw Tom getting a coffee mug out of his bulldozer. The construction worker spotted him and came over.

"Hey, Felix" he gave a short wave. "Gene told me you got here this morning. So, how's your first day going?"

Felix pulled up his cap to get a better look at the building.

"Well, I'm just wrapping my head around where to get started."

"Yep, Ralph really did a number on this place last night."

Felix swallowed, trying to push back the nervous fluttering in his chest at the mention of his unseen adversary.

"Um, just where _is_ Ralph right now?"

"Probably lurking around in the forest somewhere. He usually doesn't show up until dark." Tom nonchalantly answered taking a sip from his mug, realizing the coffee had gone cold and dumping the rest out on the grass.

Remembering the front doors being loose, Felix decided it was best to start at the bottom and work his way up. He approached the big glass double doors and took out the Hammer.

"Do you mind if I watch?" Tom asked from behind him. "That Hammer's pretty well known in my field of work. Never thought I'd ever get the chance to see it in action."

"Oh, I don't mind at all." Felix smiled. Aligning the first door so the hinges lined up, he gave them a tap. When he let go of the door, it stayed in place. He then did the same to the other door, as well as fixed up the cracks in the frosted glass. Tom let out an impressed whistle.

"Dang. If I had a hammer like that, I'd have my own TV show and a book deal by now. Your dad ever tell you why he never cashed in?"

Felix thought on this a moment.

"Pop never liked being in the spotlight much." Plus now he knew his father's hearth condition may have played a role, but he kept this information to himself. "The quiet life suited him best."

"What about you?"

Felix paused in mid swing. His memory flashing back to the promise he had given on his father's death bed.

"Never had much mind to become a celebrity." He said, his hands unconsciously playing with the Hammer. He felt terribly uncomfortable at the idea of 'cashing in' on his father's legacy, or the thought that someone could think he ever would. He shook it off and resumed repairing the windows that lined the first floor.

"You may not want to be a celebrity," Tom answered, gazing upwards, "but with a Hammer like that in a little town like this, you might become one whether you like it or not."

Felix's eyes followed where Tom was looking. In the windows of the floors above him, several faces were peeking out, watching him at work. Realizing he had spotted them, the heads darted back into the building like frightened gophers. He chuckled at this, not sure of what to make of it, but seeing the residents reminded him of his earlier conversation with Mary.

"One of the residents told me there were three repairmen here before me. Did Ralph scare them all off?"

"Darn skippy he did. That guy made it perfectly clear he didn't want anyone getting in the way of his wrecking." He paused to help Felix set up a ladder so the handyman could reach the next set of windows. "The last guy tried his best, but after a week he gave up just like the rest of them, said it wasn't worth it. After that word about Ralph got out and Gene couldn't find another repairman to come in to work here. He started getting desperate and I mentioned stories I'd heard about your dad, and from then on Gene got it in his head that your…well you, now…would swoop in and save the day."

"Oh," Felix frowned "I'm no hero, just a handyman with a fancy hammer. My dad, yeah, he was something, but I'm nothing special." He dismounted the ladder and perched himself on the first thin window ledge without even a wobble. "But, I gave my word to fix this place up and a Fix-it always keeps their word."

"And their balance apparently…" Tom added, gawking at Felix as he navigated the narrow window ledges as comfortably as a spider walking in its own web. It took Felix a moment to realize why Tom sounded so amazed.

"Huh? Oh, this? Pop and I used to do a lot of roof work, scaffolding, walking around on housing frames, guess we developed some fancy footwork over the years." He fixed up the last of the broken glass on the third window and leaped to the fourth to do the same. "So how come you didn't leave with the other construction workers?"

Tom pulled himself out of his marveled staring to answer.

"Well, me and Gene go way back. It's the reason he picked the construction firm I worked for to build Niceland. But once Ralph started acting up and everybody ran off, I stayed as a favor to him. He's a nice guy, even if he is single-minded sometimes. I'm not complaining though, I got steady work still. After Ralph leaves, I use my bulldozer to move all the bricks and stuff he knocks off into that pile over there."

Felix finished with this row of windows and decided to forgo the ladder, which he decided would be too short for the higher levels anyway, and climb to the next overhang. The overhang was thicker then the window ledges and it looked stable enough to pull up onto it. With a good jump he hauled himself up and gave the next level a good look over.

The damage was pretty bad here. A large portion of the façade was caved in, exposing the empty hallway inside the building. The overhang itself had two large dents the size of car tires on either side of the collapsed wall.

He focused on the windows first, mending the frames and repairing the glass with a few strikes from the Hammer. Every once in a while he'd look up to see if his audience had grown and he'd catch the flicker of movement from behind one of the higher windows. With the broken glass no longer broken, he shifted his attention to the dents on the ledge.

They were strange; he couldn't figure out what could have caused them. At first they seemed almost round, but on closer inspection they looked to have ridges along the top side. Perhaps they had been made by a small wrecking ball or a mace. He leaned in to get a better look at one when the edge he was leaning on gave way and crumbled beneath his hand. Falling forward he caught himself, and his hand had landed in the center of the hole closed in a fist. He noticed the shape of his hand and the shape of the dent were the same, and his mind suddenly snapped to a startling conclusion. The ridges were imprints from the fingers and knuckles of a hand tightened into a fist.

A _massive _fist.

It was now dawning on him just how Ralph had caused all the damage to the building, and a terrible feeling of dread began filling his chest.

[To be continued]

[Author's notes:I felt like breaking up what was ment to be a longer chapter so it wouldn't feel so bogged down but I promise, Ralph will make his first appearence next chapter. I just wanted to build up the tention a little more before he showed up.]


	5. Chapter 5

[Chapter 5]

It took several moments for Felix to get his mind moving again as the shock wore off.

Yes, he had been told that Ralph was huge. Yes, he had been told that Ralph wrecked the building. He had even been told that Ralph was a freak of nature. But he hadn't been prepared to learn that Ralph did his wrecking with his _BARE HANDS_. Even after confirming this with Tom, his mind boggled.

"You've got nothing to worry about." Tom had assured him. "When Ralph shows up, just hide inside the building. You can fix everything when he's gone."

With this in mind, Felix carried out the rest of his repairs trying to push away the idea of being interrupted by a giant with the strength of a charging rhino. Every once in a while, he'd glace towards the woods and wonder if Ralph was out there watching.

With every level he fixed, his confidence returned. Soon he had completely forgotten about Ralph and happily did what he loved doing. Before long, onlookers from within the building had come outside to get a better view. They gasped as he jumped from window ledge to window ledge like a hummingbird to flowers, unaffected by the expanding distance between him and the ground. With a few swings of the Hammer, all evidence of destruction vanished as his moved along, busy as a bee. By the time the sun began to set he was at the penthouse, repairing a broken railing on the balcony. Below him he could see nearly all the Nicelanders standing on the grass, gazing up, all smiling with amazement. With one final swing, the last banister was sealed into place and the job was done.

He took a long look down over the face of the building and smiled with pride at a good day's hard work. His personal moment was interrupted however by the sudden sound of clapping. Looking out into the crowd below, he spotted Mary clapping enthusiastically. A man next to her followed suit and soon the woman next to him did the same. Within second the applause spread until the crowd was a full standing ovation.

Felix felt his spirits rising and he smiled with a deep blush, especially when some in the crowd threw hoots and hollers in his direction.

"Uh, thank you." He called down with a wave. Giving the Hammer a twirl around his finger before slipping it into his belt, he gave the crowd a salute with a tip of his cap. Then he turned lightly on his feet and reentered the building through the balcony doors.

When the doors closed behind him, he grinned stupidly. He couldn't help the giddy feeling rising inside him. He had never caused such a reaction in people before. Applause? For him? For fixing? It appeared Tom's prediction about him becoming a celebrity was indeed coming true.

"Sounds like you had a good first day then." Said Gene from across the room.

The surprise nearly knocked the smile off Felix's face.

"Oh, I'm sorry Gene, I hope I'm not intruding. I was just taking the shortcut inside."

"Gene got up from his stool at the bar on the other side of the room. He finished off his martini and set the glass down on the bar before approaching.

"Not at all Felix, it gives me a chance to congratulate you."

Felix blushed again, rubbing the back on his head.

"Gosh, I really don't feel like I deserve all this attention. I was just doing what I always do."

Gene gave him a serious look.

"Felix, do you realize it took you six hours what would have taken all our other handymen combined days, possibly _weeks_ to do? Not to mention all the money saved in supplies"

He thought about this and nodded. He could understand how what he had accomplished would seem miraculous to people who where unfamiliar with the Magic Hammer, especially those whose home was routinely destroyed every night.

"Well, I guess if you put it that way." He answered with some uncertainty.

"You're too modest, that's your problem." Gene pointed at him, "Enjoy what you deserve. Join me for a drink?" He headed back towards the bar.

Felix hesitated, "Um, thank you, but I'm not much for drinking."

Gene mixed up a gin and tonic for himself and poured some tonic water over ice with a quick look of disappointment that he hadn't found a new buddy to share night-caps with. He handed Felix the non-alcoholic beverage.

"Then at least let's toast to our success."

Not able to say no, Felix held his glass up to Gene's.

"To the future of Niceland."

"Uh, cheers."

They clinked glasses and Gene downed his drink while Felix sipped his own with a smile.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Outside the remaining residents of Niceland Apartments started filing back inside to resume their daily routines. A few lingered to admire Felix's work and to chat about their wonderful new Handyman.

A good distance away, in a forgotten area of the property, where the Nicelanders never wandered, someone else was taking a good look at Felix's handywork.

A someone who was not happy about it.

In fact, it made him angry.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Felix had finished with supper. Another resident had been kind enough to present him with a pot roast as a welcome/thank you gift. As he carefully washed the casserole dish after moving the leftovers to a Tupperware, he made a mental note to go food shopping sometime tomorrow. As nice as the residents were, he certainly didn't want to exploit their kindness.

"I'M GONNA WRECK IT!"

Someone roared, nearly causing Felix to drop the glass casserole dish, his train of thought abruptly derailed. There was a definite sound of breaking glass and smashing brick now coming from outside and he could feel the building slightly tremble beneath his feet with every distant collision. He ran over to the window and peered down into the darkness to try and see what was happening. From the height of his floor he could make out the large form against the side of the building, punching away at the facade. Bricks and broken glass were flying everywhere.

Ralph.

He was here.

Felix remembered what he'd been told, stay inside until Ralph left. Common sense would dictate that he do just that. He was, after all, only hired to fix up after Ralph caused damage. But there was something nagging at the back of his mind. What Ralph was doing was wrong. Destroying someone else's home was a big fat No-No in his book. But what could he possibly do? Not even the police could stop Ralph, so he'd been told. With a sigh he pulled his head back inside and started to close the window.

Then he heard a scream.

Yanking the window back open he poked his head out and saw Ralph's silhouette climbing the building. Massive hands punching into the brick to get better handholds, huge feet kicking out windows as he passed them. He moved not only vertically but horizontally as well, making sure not to miss a single window until he reached the same overhang where Felix had first learned of those intimidating fists.

Felix wasn't sure what had caused the scream, but seeing the mess that Ralph had already left in the two minutes he had already been here, it was hard not to worry if someone had gotten hurt. He couldn't stand the idea of someone in the building getting harmed and him doing nothing about it.

Grabbing his tool belt, the Hammer still in the holster, he sped out the door.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Opting to take the stairs over the elevator, who knew if Ralph would knock out the power, he tore down each flight hopping several steps at a time. When he reached the sixth floor, the one Ralph was most likely approaching, he popped out into the hallway to make sure everyone was tucked safely into their apartments.

He found a couple fumbling with their keys while rushing to get inside before the chaos struck. Using the master key Gene had given him, Felix unlocked their door and ushered them inside where he told them to lay low. When the door locked behind him he sprinted down the hall back towards the stairwell. He heard an angry grunt come from outside, right before the wall exploded.

Felix jumped back, reflexively covering his face with his arm as brick and wood fragments went flying. When he allowed himself to look, right in front of him, only a few inched from where he had been, a giant fist was sticking through the wall. If he had been a few feet faster, he would have gotten his socks knocked off for sure.

The fist pulled itself back outside while Felix tried to stop his heart from pounding. It had been nearly as big as he was, and he couldn't imagine the body they were attached to. Maybe that's why curiosity crept into his mind and without thinking he found himself peeking through the freshly made hole.

To his left he caught sight of a very thick leg wrapped in tattered cloth bending to move upwards, taking its large body up to the next level of apartments. Leaning out a little further he glimpsed the ascending backside of the enormous figure.

_Jamminy…that's one huge caboose._ He thought to himself, as he pulled his head back inside.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

After a few more minutes of rushing down stairs, Felix was on the second floor. The floor Ralph had been at when he heard the scream.

"Hello? Is everyone all right down here?" he called out. When no one answered he pulled out the master key again and decided to check the apartments for any possible casualties. In the first apartment he knocked softly and asked if anyone was around. He found a pair of Nicelanders cowering under a coffee table in their living room. They told him they had heard the scream coming from across the hall. Felix gasped fearfully; that was Deanna's apartment.

Rushing across to her door he forgot his manners and didn't knock, just pushed the door open and called out:

"Miss Deanna? Are you all right? It's just me, Fix-it Felix Jr."

He noticed with alarm that where the window that he had repaired only that morning had been, there was now a huge gaping hole that exposed the apartment to the night-time outdoors.

"Felix?"

He turned and saw the woman timidly peeking out from behind her couch.

"Yes Ma'am. I heard a scream. Are you all right?"

"Yes," She answered, "he only caught me by surprise, that's all."

Felix sighed with relief, "That's good to hear ma'am."

In the distance he could hear the smashing of walls. He looked again at the frightened woman cringing at the sound. He quickly remembered the newlyweds frantically trying to gain access to the safety of their apartment, the older couple under the coffee table, and now Deanna. They were all hiding. Hiding in fear in a place they were supposed to feel safe in.

Felix felt the outrage rising in his chest. This wasn't how Niceland was supposed to be. Gene had told him how Niceland had been meant to be a place where people could come and live and be happy. These people weren't happy.

His hand grasping around the Hammer, he turned to leave.

Something had to be done about this.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

He marched through the lobby, a look of determination on his face as he mentally argued with the voice inside him screaming '_what in the world do you think you're doing?! This is CRAZY' _

He was terrified, this was true. He had no plan of how to deal with Ralph once he was out there, but something was pushing him on. A sense of responsibility, a notion he had been instilled with since childhood; to help people in need. It had been his father's motto. It had been his promise to his father.

He passed through the now cracked and dislodged front doors. The street lamps were the only light to illuminate the building as Ralph had knocked out the sconces on the exterior. He looked up. Ralph was at the eighth floor now, taking his sweet time tearing bricks right out of the wall and tossing them haphazardly aside. Felix had to be mindful of where they were landing.

Okay, he was outside, now what?

"Um, Hey! Hello up there!" he shouted, still trying to sound as polite as possible. "Uh, do you think you could maybe stop wrecking the building, please?"

At first he wasn't sure if Ralph had even heard him, but then the sound of destruction stopped. He saw the figure high above him turn around. Then it suddenly jumped. Felix leapt away moments before the giant form crashed down on the sidewalk, cracking it into jagged pieces upon impact.

Now before him stood Ralph.

Felix gulped nervously as Ralph, who had crouched down to absorb the impact of his landing, rose to his full height and towered over him. He was immense; taller then the entrance to the building and just as wide. He was wearing a worn out flannel shirt and a similarly exhausted pair of rust red overalls, the left strap of which was broken and dangling. Felix noticed he was also barefoot, but didn't seem bothered in the least by the sharp edged cement he was standing on. His dark brown hair was short and wildly messy, his massive jaw line and thick brow were set in a scowl glaring down at the little man who had interrupted him. His arms dangled at his sides, arms as thick as tree trunks, and at the end of each arm, those fists. Those WRECKING fists.

Felix smiled nervously up, fear quivering in his sky-blue eyes as they met with a set of mud-brown ones.

"Um, you…must be Ralph."

Ralph stared down at Felix's outstretched hand.

"You've got to be kidding me." He grumbled with a roll of his eyes. Felix was a little surprised. He had been expecting Ralph to have a deep booming voice, but instead Ralph sounded…actually normal. The giant frowned at him. "And who do you think you are?"

"Uh, I'm Fix-it Felix Jr. Sir, the new handyman." Felix anxiously smiled, still holding out his arm.

Ralph ignored the appendage and crossed his arms over his barrel chest.

"Fix-it, huh?" He glowered "So _you're _the handyman everyone's been talking about?"

"Well, I suppose so."

Ralph leaned over, drawing himself uncomfortably close to Felix. Felix lowered his arm and tried his best not to gag on Ralph's strong, musky odor.

"Then you better listen to me 'cause I only came down here to tell you this once; This is MY land. I don't care what some piece of paper or stupid moustached mayor say. I'm getting it back, brick by brick if I have to. So I'd better not see you or your construction crew…"

"I don't have a crew." Felix corrected.

Ralph drew back, slightly stunned. First for being interrupted, then for what Felix had said.

"No crew?" He glanced at Felix, puny and awkward, then at the building which he remembered had been repaired so pristinely so quickly, then back at Felix, standing there sheepishly.

"No, sir." Felix stammered. "Just me…and my hammer."

_My Hammer…_

It sounded odd coming out of his mouth.

"Just you…and your hammer?" Ralph repeated.

"That's what I said."

Ralph seemed to take a moment to wrap his head around what he had just heard. He scowled, like he thought Felix was playing some kind of joke on him.

"Well, then you…and your _hammer,_" he continued, "better stay out of my way." He punctuated this by giving Felix a poke in his chest with his huge, thick finger. Ralph then turned and grabbed the edge of the building, ready to climb again. Felix twisted his hands tightly around the handle of the Hammer, forcing out the next words to leave his mouth.

"No sir, I can't do that."

Ralph stopped, placed himself back on the ground and stomped back towards Felix who was now trying hard not to vomit from the nervousness tightening in his stomach. Of course, the smell of Ralph's breath right in his face didn't help.

"What did you say?"

Felix took a deep breath and tried to stay calm.

"I said 'no'. I'm sorry, but I was hired by the Mayor of Niceland specifically to clean up after you." He crossed his arms attempting to look more forceful. "So it's my responsibility to do just that."

Ralph frowned, then paused a moment, then smirked.

"Let me get this right. You were hired to clean up after me?"

"Yes."

"So, if I were to…say…take down my pants right now and do what bears do in the woods right here on the sidewalk, you'd have to clean it up?"

Felix cringed with a disgusted grimace.

"I suppose I would. I'd be much obliged if you _didn't _though. I'm really just here to fix things."

"Is that so?"

Ralph turned his head towards the building a spotted a window he had only halfway smashed. He gave it a strong punch, cracking the pane and spilling the remaining fragments of glass all over the ground. "You can fix _that_?"

Felix looked the damage over. Gripping the Hammer firmly, he gave the window a quick whack. A flash of gold passed over and the window was reset back to its original state. Ralph's jaw dropped. Felix smiled.

"Yes sir, I can."

Ralph looked pretty comical standing there, large mouth hanging open, eye wide with a blank expression, staring at the freshly repaired window. His dumbfounded face then stiffened into an angry snarl. He loomed over Felix, breathing heavily, the look on his face suggesting he was deciding on whether he wanted to strangle Felix or smash him into the pavement.

Felix hugged the Hammer to his chest, preparing for the worst. Instead of being beaten to a pulp however, he saw Ralph start to calm down. The giant's eyes were lingering on the Hammer and its magical glimmer.

"That explains it." Ralph said, "That's why everyone was so excited about the new Handyman. Why they kept going on about how great you were. THAT'S why they were all so overjoyed they got a scrawny twig like you working here." he pointed at the Hammer. "They're not excited about you. It's that Hammer they're all cheering about." Felix felt his heart sinking at the accusation. "I bet you don't even know HOW to fix anything without that Hammer." Ralph snickered at the idea of Felix being totally clueless without his magical tool. Felix however felt highly insulted.

"I'll have you know sir, that I am perfectly capable of fixing things with or without my Hammer, thank you very much." _My Hammer_…again he said it. "And…you're wrong. The people here know I'm providing them a service, an important one thanks to you. That's why they're so happy that I'm here. The fact that I have a magic hammer only helps me work faster, that's all. I think you're misjudging these nice folks and I think it's about time you left them alone."

Felix was satisfied by his words, but Ralph was far from convinced. His snarl was back, his large face growing red with rising anger.

"Nice folks? Nice Folks?! Do 'nice folks' tear up your home and build apartment buildings over it? Do 'nice folks' take all you have left and throw it in a dump? If you think I'm going to let these 'nice folks' get away with what they've taken from me, you're dead wrong."

Felix felt as if he were shrinking as Ralph inched closer, his giant fists clenching tightly.

"And if you're going to be helping them, then you've made a huge mistake."

Ralph swung his arm and Felix felt himself lifting off the ground. He quickly realized Ralph had plucked him up by the back of his tool belt and was now holding him up several feet above the ground.

Ralph looked around, deciding what to do with the handyman wriggling in his grasp. He spotted a nearby lamp post and hooked the tool belt over a bolt at the top of it. Felix now dangled in the air, suspended by a thick strap of leather and all his wiggling and kicking was doing nothing to dislodge him. However, he was now at eye level with Ralph.

"You think you're the first handyman to try to stop me? ... Okay, you were the first to say 'please'…But let me tell you this; I don't care who you are or what tools you use, I am gonna wreck this building and there is nothing you can do that'll stop me."

With that Ralph turned away and resumed his climb, making sure to re-destroy the window Felix had fixed on his way up.

"You know, it took me all day to fix all that." Felix whined, his voice filling with disappointment. Ralph gave him a passing glance.

"Well then, once I'm done tonight, we'll be even."

Felix cringed as the sounds of smashing resumed. Looking up he saw Ralph's silhouette against the building wrecking away. As he watched he noticed faces peeking out from a few random windows. The Niceanders had been watching. How much had they seen?

His heart sank down to the bottom of his chest. They had witnessed this humiliating moment and he wouldn't blame them if he had lost their respect. The sound of Ralph's demolition filling the air along with dust from pummeled brick only confirmed what Felix had told Tom earlier that day.

He was no hero.

[To be continued]

[Author's note] Dang this took a long time to write. I really wanted to find the right voice for Ralph. I knew he needed to be mean because that's who he's supposed to be in the game universe, but I didn't want him to be so mean that you couldn't see the hints of the nice person Ralph became in the movie.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6-

Felix hung from the lamppost like a piece of laundry, limp and without resistance. He waited for Ralph to finish with wrecking the building, which he did with chaotic efficiency, causing as much damage as possible with little effort. Once done, he climbed down, dusted off his giant hands and lumbered away, passing Felix with a strong glare. Instead of disappearing into the woods however, the wrecker stomped his way into the dump where he reached the top of the pile, smashed down the bricks around his stump and settled down for the night.

Seeing that Ralph was done for now, Felix felt safe to try getting himself down. He unbuckled his tool belt and dropped to the ground landing with bended knees. His belt dropped behind him, the Hammer landing with a useless thud on the ground. He shambled over and picked it up, wincing at the soreness caused by it being pinched around his middle for so long. He stared at the belt laying limp in his hands, the Hammer shining cheerfully, oblivious to his declining mood. He took another look over the demolished building and draped the belt over his shoulder, too lost in disappointment to bother putting it back on.

He wandered the halls of the building; one last round to see if everyone was safe. As he paced down the empty corridors knocking on doors and asking if everyone was all right, he received a few "yes, we're fine" and "everything's okay here", enough to satisfy his concerns. Once the doors were closed though, he could hear the faint whispers of residents. He wondered if they were talking about him, but he was raised better than to eavesdrop.

He checked every floor but the penthouse. Gene's angry shouting through the ceiling let Felix know the mayor was okay. He couldn't decipher what Gene was ranting about, but the one sidedness of the conversation told him it was a phone conversation, and the last thing Felix wanted to do was interrupt the politician when he was in such an angry mood. Instead he entered his apartment and called it a night.

0=0=0=0=0=0=0

Even though he had tried going to sleep early, Felix found he wasn't getting any rest at all. Almost every hour he'd wake up from a shallow sleep with another worry humming through his brain. His attempts to will himself back to sleep by keeping his eyes shut weren't working. He opened them and stared vacantly at the Hammer, still in the tool belt which was draped over a chair near his bed. Even with only a sliver of moonlight illuminating the room, the golden tool flaunted its otherworldly shine. His eyes became misty as he realized how much he missed his father. He could really use the old man's good advice right now. He'd ask if confronting Ralph had been the right thing to do. He'd ask if he was as in over his head as he felt he was.

Reaching over to the chair, he slid the Hammer out of his belt and held it to his chest. He remembered what his father had told him: the Hammer wouldn't fix all his problems. He was on his own, responsible for his own actions. Even if those actions resulted in him being suspended from a lamppost for almost an hour.

Being optimistic, he supposed it could have been worse. Nobody was harmed, Ralph only seemed interested in causing damage to the building, and he Hammer could fix anything he had broken. If only it could fix the creeping doubt in Felix's mind. Had he looked foolish in front of the Nicelanders? Would they want someone so naïve working on their building?

For what felt like the millionth time that night he found himself going to the window overlooking the dump. He could make out the giant lump still laying there amongst the bricks. In the darkness he caught the movement of Ralph rolling over and he quickly moved away from the window, just in case the Wildman was waking up and would catch him spying.

He kept remembering how everyone in the building was afraid of Ralph. Afraid of what he'd do, what he'd break, how he wanted to get rid of them. Felix had only wanted to make everyone safe. It was going above and beyond his prescribed duties, but he felt part of his role as superintendent was to remove anything harmful to the building and the people living in it and Ralph's presence was certainly not doing anything to encourage feelings of safety.

At the time he had been sure he only needed to alert Ralph to the consequences of his actions in a calm and friendly manner. His mother had always taught him the need for good conduct around new people, but this approach had blown up in his face. He had no intentions to make himself Ralph's enemy, but it was now apparent that this was an inevitability that came with the job, whether he liked it or not. Now he knew that this job was more than repairing a few broken windows. He knew that _whatever_ Ralph did, it would be his responsibility to handle it. He sat on the couch, still hugging the Hammer, wondering if he was up for the tasks that lay ahead.

0=0=0=0=0=0

While the dump wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep, Ralph usually had no problems drifting off into a deep slumber while curled up near his stump. But tonight he couldn't seem to get settled and it had nothing to do with the lumpy rubble and bricks that littered the ground around him.

Who did this Fix-it Felix Jr. think he was? Did he really think he'd get Ralph to leave because he'd asked him nicely? Sure, other handymen had tried to get him to leave; usually by yelling insults at him or making ultimately idle threats, but they never lasted long. The brave ones always ended up cowering inside the building every night with the rest of the Nicelanders until they'd had enough and abandoned their duties. The rest had run off screaming once they had gotten a good look at him and what he was capable of.

But this Felix was different. The way he was so ridiculously polite and the infuriating way he had defended the Nicelanders like it was something noble, it had gotten under Ralph's skin. Then there was that Hammer. _That_ was the real game changer. With it, the Nicelanders could have all his wrecking efforts repaired in no time. How would he scare them off his land now that they had that runt of a handyman undoing all his damage in the blink of an eye?

He wanted them gone.

From the day his stump had been unexpectedly and unceremoniously uprooted and moved to an area now labeled as a dump. From the moment that squat, speck of a man calling himself a mayor shoved a paper in his face and said his land wasn't his any more. From the time the residents moved in and filled his once peaceful forest with their gossiping chatter and obnoxious music and their exhaust spewing cars and all their garbage to the point where he had finally had enough and decided he'd take it all back no matter what.

He wanted them gone.

And now Felix stood in his way.

He kept telling himself that Felix was only human. Even with that Hammer, there was no way he'd take on the Sisyphusian task of repairing the building over and over every single time for very long. He'd wait him out. Even if it meant wrecking harder than he'd ever wrecked before. Eventually Felix would have to tire of it all, get frustrated and leave like the others did. Then the Nicelanders would follow.

Then everything would go back to how it was. It would be just him and his land and his quiet and his stump and yes, even the bricks because he had earned those bricks, they were his now. He'd be alone and unbothered. The way he liked it. They way that it should be.

He'd make sure of it.

[To be continued]

[Author's note] It's a short chapter I know, but the next one's going to end up being really long so this should tide you all over until I get that done. I wanted some parts of the story exploring Ralph's side of things, tell me how you like it. I do plan to have more moments like it in future chapters now that he's been properly introduced.


	7. Chapter 7

[Chapter 7]

Felix woke up on the couch. The rays of morning sunlight peeked in through the windows. He glanced at the clock, Six AM. He'd managed to get a few straight hours of sleep at least. He saw he still had the Hammer cuddled to his chest and felt a little embarrassed, he hadn't slept with it like that since the night of his father's passing.

Deciding he may as well start getting ready for work, he got up and took a look out the window. Thankfully, Ralph was gone, which meant he could get to fixing the building.

Not long later he was riding the elevator to the first floor still worrying about Ralph and what he'd do about him. When the elevator doors opened to the lobby, he spotted Tom carrying a few large black garbage bags.

"Mornin', need any help with those?" he asked, his need to be polite pushing away his anxiety.

"Oh, hey Felix, sure, yeah thanks." Tom passed over two of the bulky bags and Felix followed him outside. "Just drop them over here." He plopped his bags on the grass in front of his bulldozer where a few other bags were waiting. Felix did as he was told but scratched his head in confusion.

"Isn't there a dumpster we hafta' put these in?"

Tom shook his head, picking up a push broom and sweeping any loose bricks that had landed on the sidewalk last night into the pile.

"Nope. It all goes right to the dump. Been that way since Ralph scared away the sanitation workers."

"Wouldn't it cause a smell?"

"The pile's upwind, thankfully. Plus, Ralph usually eats most of what could start rotting."

Felix cringed.

"He _eats_ the garbage?" That explained his breath.

"Makes you wonder what he was eating before we got here."

Tom hopped into the bulldozer and started it up. He scooped up the bags and bricks, then made a circle around the building pushing together the rest of the loose bricks that had scattered on the lawn. He drove over to the dump and dropped off the load onto the already existing pile, then gave it another push for good measure and drove back to his parking spot. He turned off the engine, hopped out of the cab and headed back inside, making sure to grab Felix by the arm to take him along.

"And now we go back inside and wait for The Great Destroyer to claim his offering." He half joked.

Once inside they watched out of one of the broken windows as Ralph came cautiously lumbering out of the woods and towards the new contribution to the dump. When he appeared certain there was no one around to disturb him he smiled, rubbed his massive hands eagerly and tore open the nearest bag. He sorted through the contents, throwing aside all non-edibles, sniffing anything that looked good and shoving everything that met his approval into his giant mouth. Felix wasn't sure what was nauseating him more; the fact that Ralph ate garbage or his complete lack of manners while doing it.

"Well," he sighed "at least we know he's eating well."

After a few minutes, when the first bags were gone through, Ralph grabbed up the remaining bags and took them into the forest, probably to be reserved for lunch and dinner.

Behind them Felix heard the elevator bell chime. Gene stepped off and greeted the two with a smile.

"Good morning boys!" He waved sounding quite chipper. Felix was relieved, whatever had gotten his employer so peeved last night had passed and better, it didn't appear that Gene's anger had been caused by his embarrassing failure to stop Ralph's wrecking.

"Good morning, Gene." Both he and Tom said together.

"And a fine morning it is." Gene replied, heading for the front doors. He stopped when he reached them and gave the men a cautious look. "He's not still out there, right?" He asked, obviously meaning Ralph.

"Our elusive sasquatch has already fed for the morning." Tom answered. Felix didn't think Ralph would have liked Tom calling him a sasquatch, but then again, the comparison was fitting.

"Well, guess I'll get started fixin' up from last night." Felix hiked up his tool belt and followed Gene outside.

"That's what I like to hear Felix." The Mayor smiled, "Rising early and ready to go. It's the sign of a hard worker, someone who's reliable." He pointed at the handyman, "Reliability, that's what I value, unlike those idiots at the Chronicle."

"The Chronicle?" Felix raised a brow.

"The local newspaper." Tom answered him and turned to Gene. "Did you straighten out that scheduling problem?"

"Yes, thank heavens." Gene sighed with exhaustion. Focusing on Felix, he started ranting. "They wanted to have the interview _and _the photo shoot _today_! They wanted to come here and set up at eight AM! If I'm going to promote Niceland for the masses, the last thing I want the papers to see is _THIS!_" He gestured his open arms towards the building indicating the major destruction. "But, I managed to convince them to stick to the original plan and the photographers will be here tomorrow afternoon, long after you, Felix, have done your magic."

So that's what Gene had been yelling about over the phone last night. Of course, this also meant added pressure to make sure the building was perfect by the time the reporters arrived. Felix felt of surge of optimism, this would be the chance he needed to prove to everyone he was the right man for the job. Ralph or no Ralph, he'd take the challenge.

"Don't you worry Gene, I'll make sure this building is in tip-top shape by then. You can count on me." He said with an eager salute.

"Atta' boy." Gene smiled. "You see Tom, the men in your field could learn a lot from this boy." He straightened his jacket. "Well, I'm off to City Hall to meet with the reporter for the preliminary interview."

"Good luck." Felix waved as the mayor entered his car and drove off.

Once the black Cadillac Eldorado disappeared down the road, Tom gave the building a long hard gaze and shook his head.

"I tell you man, Magic Hammer or not, I don't envy you right now."

"It's not so bad." Felix sighed, looking over the damage. "Yesterday was a lot worse."

"Yeah, well, that's because there was nobody here to fix up after Ralph for two weeks. But now that he knows you're here, he's not going to make things easy on you."

Felix distracted himself from that notion by getting to work on the building, but the topic of Ralph coming up again, seeing him eating from the garbage, sleeping in it too, it brought a new question to mind.

"Doesn't he have somewhere he can go? Some kin to turn to? I mean, living alone in the woods…I'd think it must be awful lonely."

"Beats me." Tom shrugged. "As far as I know, Ralph's always been here." He paused a moment. "I remember hearing about a Trailer Park that was near here maybe twenty, thirty years ago, but I think it's a parking lot now. If he had any family there, they're long gone."

Felix remembered passing a small town on the way to the apartment building and wondered if that was the area Tom was thinking about. If Ralph had come from a Trailer Park, it didn't explain how he ended up living in a stump in the middle of nowhere.

The mysteries of Wreck-it Ralph would have to wait however, as the task of fixing the building soon consumed the rest of Felix's morning. He made sure to get every broken window, every cracked brick, he especially took care to restore Deanna's apartment to its original order.

The Nicelanders all left to attend to their jobs and other daily activities so he didn't have an audience today, although a few did stop to watch for a moment or two when leaving the building. He gave them all a friendly wave greeting them good morning and they in turn greeted him back. None of them showed signs of disappointment or anger, letting him know they still had faith in him. He was certain now he would do everything he could to ensure their faith wasn't misplaced.

As the day wore on he found his rhythm, hopping from window to window faster than yesterday and getting the job done in almost half the time. With the building fixed up early, Felix decided to use the extra time to go into town and get the supplies he'd need for the routine maintenance Gene had scheduled for him. There were the basic tasks he'd be expected to do on a daily basis, plus he'd be on call for any unexpected repairs that might come up during the day.

The drive to town took fifteen minutes though it took Felix an extra ten to figure out where everything was. Once he knew the lay of the land he got to his errands, along the way asking the locals what they knew about Wreck-it Ralph. He was surprised to discover that Ralph was regarded as a figure of urban legend, not many people even believing he actually existed. Those who did only offered a cornucopia of speculation about his origins. The stories ranged from ideas that Ralph was a hairless gorilla or a cousin of Bigfoot, to that he ran away from the circus after years of being a side-show attraction, or that he was the result of hillbilly inbreeding to the more radical fantasies that he was an escaped government experiment or a demon summoned by devil worshippers.

When his first set of questions yielded no viable information, he changed his topic to the trailer park and what had happened to the people living there. But it appeared there was even less information regarding that as most of the townsfolk had moved to the area long after the trailer park was gone. Though, like with Ralph, he found people were more then willing to offer one of the many rumors floating around about the location. A woman at the grocery store told him one of the trailers had exploded under mysterious circumstances and the whole park had burned to the ground. Another townsperson told him a giant sinkhole swallowed everyone up overnight and the entire area was simply paved over to hide it. The owner of the hardware store believed the park had been hit by a tornado, but this caused him to get into an argument with an older customer who swore the park had been the site of a brutal murder and everyone had left out of fear the place was now haunted. The only theory that made even a lick of sense to Felix was the one where everyone living at the park had been given a hefty sum of money from the local government to move out so the land could be reserved for the incoming suburban sprawl. But none of these speculations explained Ralph's residence in the empty field that became the Niceland apartment building, nor pointed him in the direction of anyone who knew.

It seemed the only way Felix was going to solve the mysterious origins of Wreck-it Ralph, would be to ask Ralph himself. And he was pretty certain Ralph would not be forthcoming with such information.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The truck packed with provisions, Felix drove back to the Niceland. He took the small backwoods road, past the bill-board, and to the fork in the road. He got 10 feet to the road sign when he saw the road ahead of him became suddenly and dangerously broken. Pulling over, he got out of the pickup and inspected the road more closely. The entire stretch of asphalt from the road sign to the building had been smashed up.

"Golly Miss Molly, what happened here?" He exclaimed. The road looked like someone had taken a jackhammer to it. He looked towards the forest and sighed, knowing Ralph was responsible. He pulled out the Hammer and kneeled at the roadside, hoping he'd at least be finished before the frozen vegetables thawed.

Once the road was drivable again, Felix parked next to the building and loaded his groceries into his apartment. Done with that, he turned his attention to his list of maintenance duties. First on the list was to inspect the elevator to see if the cables needed greasing and to clear any debris from the shaft. After giving the elevator the required attention, he changed the filter in the main air conditioning unit, checked the boiler and patrolled the halls to make sure none of the light bulbs needed changing.

Then his duties took him outside to the rooftop pool that needed to be cleaned and checked for Ph balance. He found a family of ducks had nested there and had a devil of a time trying to shoo them away, one even going as far as trying to bite him. Once that chore was done (a chore made longer by the many duck feathers that had to be cleaned up), he went to the ground level to see if the backyard patio furniture needed cleaning. When he rounded to the back of the building he was shocked to find the metal table and chairs bent and misshapen into something that resembled modern art. The ground was littered with the fragments of glass that had been the table top before the tangled legs of a chair had been thrust through it.

Ralph again.

Again the Hammer came out as Felix took the delicate effort to remove one twisted piece of metal from another and restore it to its original shape. When the table looked like a table again, he located the umbrella, stuck it into the table and pushed in the chairs leaving the patio as picturesque as a magazine cover.

He admired his work only briefly as he wondered if Ralph was watching from the woods or if he'd gone off to perform some other act of destruction elsewhere. He kept an eye out as he tended to watering the plants for any sign of the wrecker's misdeeds. He was especially cautious in case Ralph had made good on his threat to 'do what bears do in the woods' somewhere on the property. Fortunately, that act never manifested.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Early in the afternoon he received a call from Deanna about her garbage disposal being broken. He was at her apartment with his toolbox in no time.

"I turned it on and it started making this horrible grinding noise." She told him.

"Don't you worry about a thing," he said, opening his toolbox and taking out a flashlight. "Now, let's see what the problem is." He shined the light down the sink drain where the disposal was attached. He spotted the glint of something reflecting the light and he could make out the shape of a metal object deep in the drain. "Hmm, looks like you've got a fork down there." He retrieved a long handled pair of needle-nose pliers and fished the utensil out after rattling it around to get it loose from where the tines were wedged behind the blade. "Gotcha' you little devil." He noticed the fork hand been considerably mangled so he thought nothing of taking out the Hammer and giving it a swift tap. Deanna oohed watching the golden flash restore her piece of flatware. Felix placed the fork aside and took another peek down the pipe. When he flipped the switch, the disposal made a rattling noise he didn't like.

"Better open her up, just to be sure nothing else got damaged." He said, opening the cabinet beneath the sink. As he prepared to slide himself under he noticed Deanna eyeing his tool belt with confusion.

"Um, couldn't you just…you know…fix it with your hammer?"

He paused, frowning. Ralph's words from last night suddenly coming back to his mind. He sucked his lower lip. He didn't want to believe that he was only a novelty to these people, but then again, with the way everyone's eyes lit up when they saw he had the Hammer, when they watched him use it… It made sense after all, with their apartments being destroyed so often, the Hammer would be a godsend to them. Their prayers had been answered and his just happened to be the hand attached to it. He let a heavy sigh escape him.

"I suppose I could." He answered flatly but trying to smile. "It would be faster and I'm sure you're pretty busy, so if that's what you want, I'll be out of your hair in a jiffy." Feeling numb with disappointment he reached for the Hammer.

"Oh, Felix, I didn't mean to sound like I was kicking you out." She apologized, her round face fallen with guilt.

"No, it's okay. The last thing I want to do is trouble you." He replied.

"But you're not. I just…oh dear, how embarrassing…" she blushed, genuinely flustered. "I shouldn't be telling you how to do your job. Of course you'd know how to fix it without your hammer. I must have offended you."

Felix took a moment to mull this over. Apparently she was feeling just as awkward about this as he was. He stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay, really. I guess this Hammer _does_ have a bigger reputation than I do." He gave her a cock-eyed smile. "But, if I used it all the time to speed through jobs, how'd I get to know you nice folks?"

She smiled back at him, still blushing.

"You can finish the job however you'd like Felix. You are the handyman after all."

He gave her a quick tip of his cap and crawled under the sink to remove the disposal casing. Deanna paced hesitantly before speaking again.

"I never thanked you, did I?"

"For fixing your apartment? No need to, just doing my job."

"Not for that, but thanks for that too. I meant for last night, when you came to check on me. It was very nice of you. None of the other superintendants would have done that. You're very kind. You're a good man, Felix."

Felix felt the warmth of pride fill his chest. His mood lifted considerably, even if he did now feel foolish for letting his doubt get the better of him. Staring at the Hammer his mind was now filled with the words of his father; that it was only a tool, and a tool is only as good as the person using it. It was true, he accepted now that the Hammer may very well be the main reason he was at Niceland, but he decided he had the ability to show the Nicelanders they were getting much more with the deal. For Deanna, he already had.

"Thank you ma'am, and you're welcome."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

After he had finished fixing Deanna's garbage disposal, he got called off to deal with other Nicelanders' needs.

Roy had a leaking dishwasher, Rhonda had blown a fuse using her curling iron, and Marty's clothes dryer had mistaken itself for a mechanical bull and was bouncing around his apartment.

At each job Felix brought his toolbox, and at each job the Nicelander he was helping had been surprised to see the Hammer was not the first tool he'd reach for. It became an icebreaker, allowing Felix to open up the lines of communication and get to know his neighbors better.

He learned Roy collected bottle caps. He learned Rhonda was quite good at card games. He learned Marty was very fond of classic cars. In turn he found himself opening up about something personal about himself with each of them.

Like his love of baseball cards, that he had been asked to join his High School track and field team but turned it down to start working with his dad, and that his first time behind the wheel of a car he'd panicked so much that he somehow backed up into the only tree in the parking lot.

The residents didn't seem to mind what method he used to fix their apartments once they started talking to him. And with each job he found a balance between the Hammer and his other tools that felt comfortable.

As the day wore on his connection with the Nicelanders felt stronger. He was sure now that Ralph had been wrong. These _were_ good people. But Felix still had one problem: the wrecker refused to leave Niceland alone, the handyman still hadn't figured out how he'd stop him, and he was coming again tonight.

[To be continued]

[Author's note] Good news. I found a spot to break my really long chapter into two smaller chapters, so you get an update sooner. And thanks for all the feedback I've been getting, it really brightens my day.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

When Felix fixed a rattling air conditioner vent in Don's apartment, the two got into a conversation about Don's sizable collection of model ships and boat paraphernalia. The discussion spread from the apartment to the elevator as Felix escorted the tenant to the lobby. Their topic had floated from Don's sailor days to Felix's memories of a fishing trip he had taken with his dad when he was seven. It was the first time Felix had spoken of his late father without breaking down into tears that he could remember.

"Felix!" The shouting of his name turned his attention to Gene who was entering the building, an angry scowl on his face.

"Oh, evenin' Gene. How'd that interview go?"

"Have you seen what's outside?" Gene asked, ignoring his question.

"Well, uh, no, I haven't." He winced at the harshness of Gene's tone. "Gosh, somethin' needs fixing and here I am gabbing like the ladies at the salon. I'll talk to you later Don. Have a good evenin'."

"It's alright Felix." Don smiled. "Hey Gene, we're still on from drinks at my place tomorrow night, right?"

Gene looked to Don and calmed down a bit.

"Yes, Don. If everything goes right tomorrow."

"Good, can't wait. And you can come too Felix."

"Oh, thank you Don." Felix politely gestured, "But I'm not much of a drinking man. Oh! But I will be at that yacht party next weekend." He gave a thumbs-up as Don waved good-bye and left for the evening.

Gene stared at Felix, a little surprised.

"You got invited to one of Don's yacht parties?"

"Yep, sounds like it'll be quite the shindig."

Gene's sour facial expression returning told Felix that the Mayor didn't want to dwell on parties. The handyman's smile faded. "Right, somethin' needs fixin' outside."

Gene escorted Felix out to the side of the building where a portion of the brick exterior had been defaced with the large words reading, "Niceland Stinks" scrawled in poor handwriting.

Felix ran his hand over the words. They hadn't been drawn on by marker or paint but actually chiseled into the brick with some sort of tool.

"This is an outrage." Gene grumbled, "The complete disrespect!"

"It is kinda childish." Felix agreed. "You know, he's been leavin' little pranks like this around for me to find all day." He took out the Hammer and started mending the wall.

"Really?" Gene thought this over. "He's stepping up his game." He smiled. "You've got him scared!"

"Scared?" Felix raised a brow. "Gee, I never thought myself someone to be scared of Gene. I'd like to think of myself as bein' rather likeable."

But Gene was still smiling at him, not sharing this concern.

"Oh, he's scared all right. He knows you're able to keep up with him. Why else would he…unless…" he frowned, then leaned in close to Felix to whisper, "You don't think he knows about tomorrow, do you?"

"I don't think he does." Felix answered, but with a bit of uncertainty.

"But we can't know for sure. He's always lurking in these woods. He could be eavesdropping on us at any time." Gene's voice rose with mounting worry. "I'm telling you Felix, if he ruins tomorrow _I'm_ ruined." He stomped around, holding his head, near panic. Felix fiddled with the Hammer, worrying about what to say. Just watching Gene was making him nervous. Gene stopped pacing with a sigh and turned to him.

"Felix, is it wrong for a man to have ambition?"

"Umm, I suppose not."

"Is it wrong to have a dream? A dream to make the world a better place."

"No sir, it isn't."

"And if that dream involves affordable housing that would up the population of potential voters and give them a safe place to live, is that wrong?"

"No, sir."

"And is it wrong to fight for that dream?"

"No, sir!"

"We have to fight for what we believe in, Felix. To fight for the right cause."

"Yes sir!"

"We shouldn't be afraid to stick to our ideals, or let any smelly, ignorant mountain men stand in our way."

Felix's eyes were aglow with optimism, his smile wide with gleeful confidence.

"Oh, you're right Gene, thank you!" He took the Mayor's hand and shook it vigorously. "I shouldn't be afraid to stand up for what I believe and now I know what I'm going to do when Ralph shows up tonight!"

Gene, until this moment oblivious to the fact that his speech, meant to calm his own nerves, had inadvertently whipped Felix into an inspired frenzy, stood dumbfounded as his handyman marched back into the building. He had no idea what sort of plan Felix had in mind for dealing with Ralph. He only had a growing sense of dread that something was going to go horribly wrong.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Ralph was pretty pleased with himself. After tossing and turning for half the night, he left the dump for a nice long walk in the forest to clear his head and found a nice sturdy tree to doze under until the morning when the sound of the bulldozer woke him up. The dump had some nice pickings today. It wasn't dignified, he knew, but it was the one thing about the Nicelanders he tolerated; they threw out such great food.

After eating his fill and hiding the rest for later, he'd taken a dip in the duck pond deep in the forest and mulled over how he'd handle Fix-it Felix. He decided that wrecking only at night wasn't going to be enough. He needed to wear Felix down, disrupt his routine, run him ragged with extra work.

He'd started with the road. As soon as he saw Felix's truck gone he smashed the handyman's way back to the building good. Later, he got creative with the metal patio furniture, making sure it would take awhile for anyone, even with a magic hammer, to get the pieces apart. He wondered when Felix would discover the fact that he had clamped the end of the rain gutter spout shut, delighting when he saw the clouds getting thicker throughout the day indicating it would rain sometime later that night. He snickered to himself at the thought of Gene's face seeing the message he had etched into the side of the building with his fingernail.

He was pretty sure it would all send the fixer a strong message that he meant business. Of course he was saving his best moves for tonight. He had to admit, he had begun to enjoy his nightly wrecking endeavors. It let him vent his frustrations and gave him a goal to achieve; each act of destruction bringing him closer to his dream of ridding his forest of these intruders and reclaiming his home.

So of course he was surprised to see Felix sitting on the front steps of the building waiting for him.

"Hey there neighbor!" He waved, a stupid looking grin on his face. Ralph frowned, glowering down at him.

"Your butt must really miss that lamppost."

Felix chuckled nervously while getting to his feet. Despite Gene trying to convince him otherwise, he had stuck to his guns and was convinced he could get through to Ralph if he was cordial enough.

"Yeah, about last night…" He started, "We got off on the wrong foot and I wanted to apologize. I think we can hash things out between us and find some agreement that would allow us all to peacefully coexist."

It sounded like Felix had been practicing what he was going to say, and worse, believed every word of it. Ralph sighed and shook his head.

"Peacefully coexist?" he asked, just to make sure he had heard correctly.

"Exactly." Felix smiled, "Now I know you have your opinions about the Nicelanders, but I think if you really got to know them, you'd change your mind. Then I'm sure we can work something out, with us all being rational, intelligent adults and all."

Ralph was a little surprised to have someone call him "intelligent" but it only made him wonder what strange little world existed in Felix's head even more. He continued frowning.

"Look, you may think the world is full of peace, love and lollypops, but the truth is the people who live here, the people you work for, they're not looking to sit around the camp fire and sing kumbaya with me anytime soon. And the feeling is mutual. So "A" for effort, but no dice." He lifted his long, thick arm and pushed Felix aside so his aim at the building wasn't blocked. Clenching his fists, he got quickly into pounding the brick and shaking the building with his blows.

Felix let his mouth hang open for a moment. He had been certain he could appeal to Ralph's better nature, but he hadn't quite found the right way yet. Ralph didn't seem to care that he was disrupting the lives of good people, nor did he seem open to the idea of befriending any of them. He could hear the sounds of the Nicelanders panicking in their apartments and watched as Ralph ascended, leaving smashed glass and pulverized brick in his wake.

He felt something inside him tighten, a resolve, a desperate need to do _something._ He couldn't stand around and watch this happen again. Before he was even thinking about it, he was pulling out the Hammer and striking the building. The damaged healed with each hit, wiping outRalph's work directly behind him. Ralph heard the metallic pinging below him and looked down to see the golden flashes Felix was creating.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" He shouted. Felix looked up but didn't stop fixing.

"Just doin' my job."

Ralph snarled,

"Well quit it!" he gave the ledge he was standing on a heavy stomp. Bricks fell loose and fell to the ground. Felix dodged the falling debris and jumped up to the next level of windows.

"No, I will not." He rationalized, "If you won't stop wrecking, then I'll just keep on fixing, if you don't mind."

"I DO mind!"

Ralph grabbed a chunk out of the wall he was punching and heaved it down. Felix pressed himself against the wall to avoid being hit by it.

"We're you _aiming_ to hit me with that?' Felix gasped.

"Yeah, kinda was." Ralph scoffed. He could barely keep his anger in check. He didn't want to hurt Felix too badly, but the want to make the repairman stop was so strong, he wasn't above making the little man fear for his life if it meant he'd leave him alone. It was so insulting it made him boil inside; the overly polite, goody-two shoes was invading his moment. The moment he used to fight for what he wanted more then anything. Hadn't his life been invaded enough? "Now, get out of here before you get worse."

Felix paused, looking like he was taking this into consideration. He looked unsure at first, then resolve settled into his features. Gripping the Hammer firmly he continued repairing the windows, moving up to the next story of the building.

"Oh, now you're asking for it." Ralph grit his teeth and slammed both fists repeatedly into the ledge. The vibrations rattled the building, knocking more bricks free and shattering countless windows. Felix stayed steady on his perch and hopped to the next ledge when that window was fixed.

"That won't work Ralph." Fix-it stated, "You may have all the Nicelanders here scared as rabbits of you, but not me." He paused as Ralph peered over the side to glower directly down at him. "I'm not afraid of you Ralph. You may be used to getting your way through intimidation, but not anymore. I've dealt with bullies like you in the past… well, mostly by hiding behind the bleachers in the gym when I wasn't being wedgied or shoved in my locker…but the point is I learned that a man should not live in fear…Hey! You're not even listening to me!"

Ralph was already at the next level of the building, pounding away without paying Felix any attention.

"Well sorry if I'm not interested in your life story." Ralph answered bluntly. He created several more holes in the building and moved along even higher. Felix followed, hopping up to keep each other only a floor apart. He frantically searched his mind for a new tactic. Ralph stomped and punched and smashed and Felix desperately yelled up to him,

"Wreck –it Ralph, you stop destroying this building right now!"

Ralph suddenly stopped. He looked down at Felix, blank-faced for a moment, then began bawling with laughter.

"Oh hoho, you did not just…HAHA! Ooh, I'm really shaking with fear now." Felix blushed as Ralph continued. "Who taught you that disciplinary action, your mom?"

"Y, yes actually…"

Ralph laughed even harder, leaning on the building so he wouldn't loose his balance.

"What next? Are you going to count to ten and give me a time out?"

Felix felt a flicker of outrage spark inside him. His mother had been a fair and loving parent and he didn't much care for someone mocking the way she brought him up.

"Well, at least my mother taught me proper conduct around people. Your mother…if your mother could see you right now…well, I'd think she'd be rather disappointed in you."

Ralph instantly stopped laughing, his abrupt silence filling Felix with the guilty dread that he had said the wrong thing. Ralph's fists clenched tightly, his face turning a deep red.

"DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT MY MOMMA!" He exploded.

"Uh, Ralph, I'm sorry. I'm sure your mother's a wonderful woman…" Felix meekly tried to reverse the situation, but it was clearly too late.

"You didn't know my momma!" The wrecker ignored the apology, probably didn't even hear it through the cloud of rage that had overtaken him. He slammed his fists on the ledge, at the building, into windows, flailing around wildly, stomping and screaming. "You don't know ANYTHING about my momma! My momma LOVED me!"

He threw his fists into the brick, causing the building to shake violently. Felix had to grab hold of a window shutter to keep from loosing his balance. It was this moment he realized that he was high as the sixth floor.

"Didn't know", "loved", these were past tense. Had something happened to Ralph's mother, Felix wondered. Having lost his own mother at a young age, he felt empathy. A loss like that would certainly explain Ralph's volatile outbursts.

"Ralph! We can talk about this!" Felix pleaded as the giant continued to give the building its own private earthquake.

"You shut your mouth!" Ralph demanded. It was then he noticed there were Nicelanders peeking out their windows, no doubt curious to see what all the yelling was about. "What are YOU looking at!?" He thrust his fists at the walls again, smashing even more windows and scaring the onlookers off. "Go away! Just leave me ALONE! All of you, leave me alone!" He stomped hard causing a huge chunk of the ledge to crack.

Felix hadn't been paying attention to the ledge. He had been too focused on Ralph and thinking of ways to calm him. He heard a loud crack over his head and looked up. There was a sudden blow to his head. He saw stars before everything went black.

Then, he had the sensation of falling.

[To be continued]

[Author note: Thanks for all the feedback I've been getting. I really liked how this chapter came out and I hope to get the next one out soon. Poor Felix, he seems to have the misfortune of being able to unintentionally hit people's berzerk buttons, here with Ralph and later with Calhoun.]


	9. Chapter 9

[I had a feeling you'd all be worried about Felix, so I got this chapter up as quick as I could.]

Chapter 9

Felix felt like he was floating. The world around him was spinning though he felt the ground solid at his back. There was a ringing in his ears, a buzzing through his skull and a dullness that made it difficult to feel his limbs. The world was still dark and everything on the other side of his closed eyelids felt nonexistent.

Then, very softly, he felt something nudge his leg, then his side, then his face. Then something heavy gently laid itself on his chest.

Distantly he could hear yelling. It was muffled, but getting closer and the weight on him suddenly vanished. The voices were garbled and many, and even if he were completely coherent he doubted he'd be able to pull them apart. The buzzing in his head grew more intense and he felt himself start to drift further away from sound and feeling, back to floating in the dark void.

"Felix. Come on Son, wake up."

He focused on those words, unsure of where they had come from. As he did, the world slowly regained feeling.

"Felix, can you hear me?"

He was quickly aware of the throbbing pain in his head. Intense spikes surged through his brain and down his spine, where they bloomed into a burning sting through his back. He groaned pitifully.

"Hey, I think he's waking up." A familiar voice said. "Come on Felix, stay with us."

He managed to open his eyes to a blurry figure standing over him.

"Dad?" He mumbled weakly.

His vision cleared momentarily to reveal a confused Gene kneeling at his side.

"Hey man, how many fingers?" Tom leaned over and shoved his hand in Felix's face. Gene pushed him away.

"Give him some space."

"Oh, thank goodness, he's alive." Mary sighed with relief, fanning herself with her hand to keep herself from fainting with worry.

Other Nicelanders murmured amongst one another.

"Did someone call for an ambulance?"

"Is he all right?"

"Ralph's gone too far this time."

Felix attempted to sit up, but his pained body and throbbing head protested. He could feel the warm trickle of blood running down his face from the swelling wound on his forehead. Gene carefully held him down to prevent another attempt to move.

"Stay still," Gene ordered "you're hurt pretty bad."

He felt at his side and found a vacancy in his tool belt. He tried looking around, but his vision started blurring.

"Where's my hammer?"

Reminded of the tool in question, Gene's eyes widened. He glanced around and saw the Hammer lying in the grass a few yards away.

"Here it is." He called. He picked it up only to discover it was heavy. He had expected it to have some heft, being made of gold and all, but Felix had made it look easy to handle with those scrawny arms of his. Using both hands he was able to lift it up and carry it back to Felix, were he laid it at his side. "Wouldn't want you to loose that now." He turned his attention to the Nicelanders. "Did the operator say how soon the ambulance would be here?"

There were noises of conversation, but Felix wasn't listening. He groped at his side until his hand gripped the Hammer. Slowly, carefully, he propped himself up with his left arm, gritting his teeth against the pain of moving.

"…And somebody needs to keep an eye out for Ralph. Last thing we need is him scaring away the paramedics." Gene turned his attention back to Felix who was in the motions of striking himself with the Hammer. The Mayor let out a yelp of panic, fearing his handyman was about to bludgeon himself.

A flash of gold and the pain vanished, along with bruises and any possible broken bones. Everyone gasped, surprised by his miraculous recovery.

"Wow, that tool really can fix everything." Tom marveled.

Felix found himself suddenly swarmed by Nicelanders doting on him.

"Are you all right dear?"

"Oh, we were so worried about you."

"Somebody help him up."

He was hoisted to his feet and the fussing continued.

"Jaminy, thank you for your concern, but really, I'm okay now." He bashfully ran his hand through his hair." Uh, has anyone seen my hat?"

A few residents ran around to look for the missing cap. Felix saw Gene staring at the building and pried himself away from the rest of the Nicelanders to approach him.

"He really did it this time." Gene was despondent, "He could have killed you."

Felix nodded, reliving the events that had passed in his mind.

"What happened to Ralph after I fell?"

Gene grunted, "It looked like he was going to finish you off. But we all rushed him at once and chased him away." Felix was wide-eyed. _Them_, scare off Ralph? Gene didn't seem to have absorbed the magnitude of that statement. "You see Felix, _this_ is why you don't try to reason with _animals_ like him."

He frowned. He didn't want to believe that Ralph was beyond reason, but after tonight the evidence was heavily supporting Gene's argument. Both men stared at each other, both wearing expressions of disappointment.

"Can't say I didn't try." Felix tried to stay positive, but emotionally he was still unsteady from the ordeal. Gene's gaze returned to the building.

"I'm cancelling the photo shoot. There's too much at risk."

Felix was shocked. "Gene, you can't give up. What happened to fighting for your dream?"

"My dream is lying in rubble in front of me." Gene sighed, "And no matter how many times you fix it, he'll keep coming back. And…we almost lost you. So what's the point? We may as well give up."

Was it really that hopeless? Felix pondered a response but was interrupted by Marty who offered him back his hat. He thanked him, then looked over the small crowd gathered around. He had an answer.

"The point is Gene, you're doing it for them." He turned the mayor to face the hopeful group waiting there. "You gave them a home. You've been looking out for them since before I got here. They trust you to do the right thing."

Gene looked over the Nicelanders. From the day Niceland had opened, he had promised their needs would be taken care of. He had given them shelter, homes some of them never dreamed they'd be able to have; affordable luxury near jobs, schools and shopping. His only mistake was building that shelter on land that was cheap because of a raging gorilla-man living there that he had believed to be only legend. Felix was right, if he gave up, he'd be giving up on them.

"But what about Ralph? We got lucky tonight, but he'll be back, you can count on it."

Felix returned his cap to his head.

"You leave Ralph to me." He flicked the Hammer from his belt to his hand, giving it a little twirl as he did. "It's _my_ job to fix what he wrecks. And I intend to keep doing just that."

With that he turned his attention to the building. In a flurry of strikes, jumps, hops and hammering he repaired the windows, the bricks, the shutters, all faster then anyone had seen him do before. It only took him minutes, not hours. He and the Hammer felt as one, the tool reading his intentions and passion and restoring large chunks of building with single strikes.

He stood on the roof now, overlooking the crowd below. They cheered and applauded and some even chanted his name. It was such a joy, helping these people keep their home. Even without the accolades he'd still be blushing with pride. Looking down he caught Gene's eyes looking at him. The mayor was grinning and giving him a thumbs-up. The population of Niceland were all reenergized by his act of faith. Felix won't give up, why should we? He gave them all a big thumbs-up back, holstering the hammer with a flourish.

From the rooftop he spied Ralph's stump and saw Ralph wasn't there. His mind rewinded to Gene's telling him about how they had scared Ralph away. He found this odd though. He had tried and failed twice to get Ralph to leave. Hadn't the police failed as well? So how could a hulking mountain of a man like Ralph be spooked off by a crowd of much smaller civilians that he could easily have swatted away? Maybe it was because the Nicelanders had never stood up to him until now. Maybe it was because Ralph wasn't in a right state of mind since mention of his mother had driven him squirrely.

The uncertainty of Ralph's mental state had Felix worried. Would Ralph still be that enraged when he showed up tomorrow? And what would he do if he was?

[To be continued]

[Author notes: Some of the reviews I got for the last chapter made me realize I may have misphrased something in my previous A/N. Just to clarify, Calhoun is NOT in this story. It only follows FiF jr. characters as this is the backstory to that particular game. Sorry to disappoint. What I meant was, Felix had the bad luck of saying something that caused Ralph to go crazy, just like his saying "Dynamite Gal" had made Calhoun go off the deep end IN THE MOVIE. Hope that clears things up. Keep the reviews coming, love the feedback.]


	10. Chapter 10

[Chapter 10]

Ralph pounded the building madly, his rage boiling over. No amount of damage could satisfy his want for the building, the Nicelanders, everything to go away. He was consumed with the desperate want for his life to go back to how it once was; quiet and stable and under his control.

A thump below him caught his attention. It wasn't the same kind of sound a falling brick or slab of concrete makes when hitting the ground. It was softer, more yielding and accompanied with a sickening crack of bone.

A sudden dread replaced his anger as he looked down and saw Felix lying there, bleeding and unmoving. Any emotion other than fear quickly drained from him.

"Oh no." He muttered, abandoning his wrecking and climbing down. He stood over the unconscious handyman's body. Was he still alive?

Carefully he nudged Felix's boot. The foot gave some resistance, but only just barely. He poked Felix's side and when that produced no response, he nudged his cheek. Still nothing.

Fearing the worst Ralph clenched his teeth. He had wanted to scare Felix, not _kill_ him. The smaller man's words from before suddenly ringing through his head:

_Your mother would be disappointed in you._

He grunted to himself, shutting his eyes tightly, trying to force the thought from his head. Lightly, he placed his hand on Felix's chest. There was a heartbeat. Good. He was breathing. Good. Ralph let out a sigh of relief.

"Hey! Get away from him you monster!"

He saw Gene yelling from the doorway of the building. Other Nicelanders were behind him, all shouting angrily. The sneers on their faces, he already knew they hated him, but for harming Felix, they'd _despise_ him. A part of him was happy about this; maybe _now_ they'd get the picture and leave. But their bitter expressions sent a heavy ball of guilt down into his gut.

Emotions colliding in his head like a pinball, he didn't want to deal with the hoard of angry little people now rushing at him. Some with umbrellas or rolled up newspapers as weapons to use against him.

He reflexively let out a growl as he rose from his kneeling position to his full height. He gave Felix a last glace before running towards the tree line.

"Yeah, you'd better run!" He heard one of them, most likely Gene again, yell.

Once he was under the cover of the forest he felt safe enough to watch as the Nicelanders all crowded around Felix shouting and crying and worrying. What if Felix _died_? Did he really want that on his conscience, even if it did mean them leaving?

_Your mother would be very disappointed in you._

They had called him a monster. He looked down at his enormous hands. He had always been viewed as a monster.

Through the trees he saw Felix sit up unexpectedly and strike himself with his hammer. Ralph groaned inwardly. Of course, the hammer could fix injuries. He watched as the Nicelanders let out a collective noise of relief and gather around Felix to continue pouring attention all over him. Ralph snarled, turning his back on the scene and stomping deeper into the woods, feeling stupid for actually being concerned for the repairman's well being.

Was this going to be his life from now on? Nothing he did to have any lasting impact? While he didn't have guilt weighing him down anymore, it also meant the Nicelanders had nothing to fear from him. It meant they'd stay.

He growled and punched the nearest tree. All he wanted was to be alone. He wanted to be free of their annoying presence, free of their insults, free of their "I'm better than you" attitudes and their presumptions about his mother.

_Your mother would be disappointed in you._

Felix didn't know his mother. Nobody did. For Ralph, Mama was a phantom in his memory. He couldn't' remember her face anymore, but he could remember her smile, her soft arms, her gentle voice. He remembered how she held him when he was small; close and lovingly.

"I love you my little Ralphie." She would say sweetly and kiss his head. She'd hold him when he cried, calm him when he was fussy and play with him when he had no one else for company, which was often. Other children didn't play with him in the small trailer park he spent the first few years of his life in. Either their parents wouldn't allow it or they learned quickly that Ralph had problems "playing nice" because his temper would flare up at an unshared toy, or simply he'd forget that other children weren't as "hardy" as he was. He had a habit of breaking his toys too easily so he didn't have many. Mama simply couldn't afford to buy replacements as often as they were needed. She worked as a waitress at a bar and whatever she was able to get in tips went to her rapidly growing boy's needs.

His bad temper and freakish strength got him into trouble often. It got to the point were Mama would beg, plead and even bribe other residents of the park to watch him while she was at work. Those who gave in always hid their prized possessions before he arrived, but doubtless, something always ended up broken and with Mama promising to pay for replacing it however she could. There was no father to look after him when she was away. The man was never spoken of, no photos seemed to exist of him, the only evidence he was ever present in the trailer park was a box Mama kept in the back of a closet containing some clothing he'd left behind. Unfortunately this fueled the teasing Ralph would get later in his childhood. From 'your daddy didn't want you, freak' to 'your daddy's the gorilla at the zoo', the teasing stoked the unstable fire of his temper and led to children running home crying with broken noses.

Ralph tried to be good. He made the effort to be gentle and careful, but he was large and clumsy. Nothing at the trailer park's playground was appropriate for his size. Swing chains snapped under his weight, he bent slides trying to climb and slide down them, and the less anyone mentioned the incident involving the see-saw, the better. The residents of the trailer park couldn't deal with him and let Mama know often that something needed to be done. Many nights had him in Mama's arms, crying about why he was different. Mama was kind, Mama was patient, Mama would tell him he was her special little boy. She would hold him until he fell asleep or until she had to catch the bus that would take her to work. Then came the day she couldn't silence his detractors anymore.

She had left him in the care of an old lady who was sweet, but many believed was starting to go senile (why else would she take in that little monster.) The lady kept cats and while this fact made her nervous, Mama was working a double shift and couldn't find anyone else to take Ralph for the night. So Ralph was told to be on his best behavior. Someone should have instructed the cats to do the same.

For Ralph, best behavior was sitting on the floor, not moving. The old lady was distracted by a game show on her TV and didn't pay him any mind since he wasn't being rowdy. But the cats did give him attention. At first he liked it when they rubbed against him purring, but they began to pester him once the novelty of this wore off. They continued coming over and getting in his lap, shoving their tails in his face. He tried as gently as possible pushing them away, but their curiosity did not respect his need for personal space. Then, one adventurous feline attempted to climb him. When its claws dug into his back, he jerked it off and threw it across the room simply on reflex. It made a horrible screech and hit a lamp, knocking it over into a grandfather clock which teetered and started falling forward. Reacting, he jumped up and caught the clock, but in his haste to right it, he over-pushed and sent it through the wall to crash outside. The old lady was startled and yelling,

"What's going on, what did you do to my kitty?"

He breathed heavily. He was scared and angry. He was being good. It was the cat that started it.

"It's not my fault!" He screamed, suddenly overwhelmed by a need to physically take out his frustration on something. He picked a wall and threw his fists against it. It would be a poor decision, as the flimsy trailer, which already had a big hole in it from the clock, couldn't take the pounding, and with the whole trailer park watching since the sounds from inside had caught their attentions, the trailer collapsed.

Ralph, the old lady, and her cats were alright. The trailer's thin walls did no damage to the people inside as they fell outward. But Ralph had destroyed her home, and everyone had seen it. To make matters worse, the old lady kept going on about what Ralph had done to her cat. By the time Mama got off her last shift and stepped off the bus, there was a huge mob gathered around the wreckage, and she knew her son was responsible.

She spent hours explaining and apologizing, but Mama could not stop the ultimatum from coming. Either she did something about her son, or they would call someone to come lock him up. Sadly, she apologized one last time, telling the old lady she could have their trailer once they got their stuff out, and they left the trailer park. Ralph and Mama walked hand in hand through the woods until they came upon a clearing. It was devoid of trees, except one large hollow stump in the middle. And there they stayed.

Aside from food and some clothing, they left the rest behind. They made due on the little they had. It should have been miserable, but actually it was the happiest Ralph had been in years. There was no more teasing, no more people yelling at him for breaking things, he didn't feel angry anymore. It was just him and Mama, and he liked it this way. He also liked the stump. It was simple, but it was durable and he could play on it and in it without causing it damage. And he could nap in it. It was full of soft moss and after hours of playing in the big field, with Mama, hearing her laugh, which he hadn't heard in such a long time, he'd lie in the stump and fall asleep.

Mama still had to work however. She still needed to feed and clothe herself and her boy. As far as Ralph knew, she hadn't told her employers that she was homeless, and she was embarrassed to let anyone know. She was forced to trust that Ralph would be okay on his own for the night. Even if they hadn't left the trailer park it would have ended up being that way anyway. At least out here there was less chance he could get into trouble. She'd leave him some dinner and tell him to stay with the stump. She'd tell him,

"Be brave, be strong, and be good."

Then she'd walk to the bus stop. He'd eventually fall asleep in the stump and when he woke up she'd be there, sleeping in the grass next to it.

It went on like this for some time. Until, one morning, Mama wasn't there when he woke up. He was awoken by the morning light and birdsong and when he looked over to the patch of grass she normally slept on, she wasn't there. She wasn't near the little fire pit she had built making breakfast. He called out for her, maybe she was somewhere behind the trees. No one answered. He called out again. Still nothing. He leapt out of the stump and started running around frantically, searching for any sign of her, calling out,

"Mama!"

No Mama anywhere.

He remembered her instruction to stay near the stump. So he sat there and waited. Maybe he had only woken up too early and she wasn't back yet. Maybe the busses were running late. But as the minutes turned to hours and she still hadn't returned, the worst thought came to him,

Maybe she didn't want him anymore.

Hadn't he been good? He hadn't broken anything in a long time. Hadn't she been happy? There was no one here telling her she was a bad mother. Didn't she love him? She had told him so. Or had she given up because raising him was too difficult? He was too large, too clumsy, a freak of nature. The sun started setting and his fears dissolved into sadness, and he cried for the longest he had ever cried in his life.

There had been cans of food left behind, but that only lasted so long. Somehow, even at his young age, Ralph learned to scavenge, watching animals to see what they ate to know what was safe. When trees bore fruit he learned to climb them and became very good at it. More time passed and Ralph started getting bolder and exploring more of the forest that surrounded the clearing, but he never strayed too far from the stump, just in case. He followed Mama's advice; he was strong and he was brave and against the odds he survived.

Years passed. The man made things that had come with them when they first arrived didn't last, but nature did. It became his teacher. He learned about the world around him in primal, caveman like ways. He had grown stronger than humanly possible and he tested his strength against the elements. If he needed shelter, he could punch a cliff side until he made a cave. If he wanted water, he could use his mighty hands and gash a trench from a stream to wherever he pleased. He grew fond of being in control, and yet part of nature.

One day, during his wanderings he found an area that was vaguely familiar despite him believing he'd never been there before. Going on some deep seeded, mostly forgotten memory, he followed his instinct until he reached something he hadn't seen in a very long time.

The trailer park.

His heart swelled. Maybe, just maybe, Mama was here. He searched through the area. A great deal of the trailers were now gone, nothing left but the cinderblocks that once held them up. There were a few that remained and he ignored the stares he was getting from their occupants, he was only interested in one trailer. When he saw it, it was rusting, succumbing to disuse and decay, but he was so filled with hope that his eyes and smiled widened.

"Mama? Mama!"

He rushed to it. He opened the door so energetically that he pulled it right off its hinges and squeezed his way inside.

It was empty. It looked like no one had been here in a very long time. No Mama. No sign of the little old lady they had given the trailer to when they left. Not even the cats had stayed. Thick cobwebs and dust lined everything. A musty smell filled his nose and threatened to make him sneeze. He took a few cautious steps further and began to explore. Most of the trailer was empty. The old lady must have moved out or passed on and her belongings gone with her. There was no sign his Mama had ever returned here. His heart sank.

As he wandered back to the door he noticed in one room a box was in the middle of the floor. When they lived there, it had been his mother's room. Curiosity taking over, he ventured inside and opened the box. It was full of clothes, humongous clothes, his father's clothes. He had known about this box, but had never looked inside it before. The clothing was huge. His father must have been a giant man, and it explained why he too had always been so large. The box must have been left behind by who ever cleaned the place out, for it obviously didn't belong to the little old lady.

He had outgrown his own clothing a long time ago and had taken to wearing the blanket his mother used to cover himself, but it was wearing thin and falling apart. Since he wasn't particularly fond of running around in the forest in his birthday suit, he decided to take some of his father's clothing. He rummaged through the box and found a shirt, a button down flannel, and some durable looking overalls. He found no socks or shoes, but he didn't mind as he preferred the feeling of the ground on his bare feet. As he dressed himself, he spotted through a dirty window someone leaving their trailer. Perhaps he could find some answers from them.

"Hey!" he called out from the open door way.

The skittish smaller man saw him and immediately started running. Ralph wouldn't have any of that. He gave chase. His long strides helped him catch up and in seconds he had the shaking man in his grasp.

"W, what do you want with me?" he asked

"I'm looking for someone." Ralph answered, still holding the man up by his shirt. "My Mama."

"Yer Mama?" The man was confused, then a sudden look of recognition, then fear. "Holy moly… You, yer, Ralph! We thought you was dead."

"Well, I'm obviously not." Ralph said, not happy with the man's reaction. "Now, has my Mama been here or not?"

The man continued to stare up at Ralph with wide, frightened eyes.

"N, no. Not since everyone ran you two out…" He paused as if remembering something. His face took on a surprised and almost pitying look. "Aw, shoot. You don't know, do you?"

Ralph knotted his brow, pulling the man a little closer. "Know what?"

The man gulped. It was plain on his face that he didn't want to be the one to tell Ralph what came out of his mouth next.

"She, she'd dead."

Ralph lowered the man, but didn't let go. His eyes drifted forward with a lost gaze.

"Dead?"

The man nodded.

"It was on the news, few years ago. They found her body on the side of the road. Police think she was hit by a car while walkin' to the bus stop."

Ralph's breath became shallow. Mama had always walked to the bus stop, but the road leading to it was unlit, and her waitress uniform was black. A car very well might not have seen her. He squeezed his eyes shut, fighting back tears. He couldn't believe it. Mama had walked that road so many times, she knew to be careful. Of course, when they lived at the trailer park, the route to the bus stop had been much shorter, and there was a safe path to walk on. Not the case when they started living in the woods.

"I'm really sorry man." His captive sputtered nervously. "An' nobody knew what happened to you, so I guess nobody looked for ya. But hoowee! Look at you now. Dang, you got big!"

Ralph had gotten big. By now he was an adult, but his mind was still very much a child's.

"It's your fault." He muttered.

"What?" The man asked.

Ralph grit his teeth and snarled.

"It's YOUR fault! ALL of you!" He pulled the man closer to his reddening face. "You kicked us out of our home! You made her take that road to get to work. If we were still here, she'd be alive!"

The man now struggled to get free, fearing for his life.

"Hey man, I was seven when that went down. Don't you take it out on me!"

"You're at fault too; picking on me all the time. Nobody understood us. Nobody cared!"

He suddenly dropped the man, who took off running. He was breathing heavily, his mind swimming with conflicting emotions. For the first time in the longest he could remember, his anger was returning. And it was making up for lost time.

Screaming with rage he punched the trailer the man had come out of, knocking it off its foundation. Other residents started coming out to see what the commotion was and found themselves running for their lives as Ralph continued to devastate the trailer park. He smashed through aluminum siding, crushed cement patios, stomped flowerpots and left no lawn flamingo spared. He showed everything that couldn't escape for its life the same restraint of a natural disaster.

Their fault. _They_ forced Mama to leave, _they_ put her on an unsafe road at night, _they_ didn't bother looking for him when _they_ found out she was gone from his life before he did.

When he finally had drained himself of wrath, the trailer park was in ruins. Not a single trailer was left standing. Only piles of wood and metal scrap remained. He gave the people staring at him from the edges of the property no mind, turned and retreated into the woods.

He only ventured there one more time, a few years later, simply out of boredom. But when he returned, he found the trailer park had been replaced by a parking lot for a mini-mall. In fact the entire area had been developed into a small town with shops and houses and most interestingly, people.

Years with no human contact had left Ralph lonely and he eagerly sought to rectify that. But as he wandered down the crowded suburban streets he was only greeted with people quickly darting out of his way, frightened screams, people pointing with mouths agape, and parents grabbing their children and running. Quickly, Ralph was reminded that with people came disappointment, this place was no different than the trailer park it had replaced.

So he returned to the stump. The stump never mocked or feared him. The stump was always there for him. That was where he felt most at ease, this was his home. It reminded him of Mama and how she always came back for him when he waited for her there.

Only if she came back now, she wouldn't find the stump where it had been, because there was a big, ugly apartment building there.

Ralph now sat beneath a large tree and let his thoughts straighten out. He hadn't thought about his Mama in a very long time and having the memory of her brought to the surface like that, with the accusation that she'd be disappointed in what he had become, it dug deep.

She loved him, she had said so countless times. He had done everything she asked of him. He was brave, nothing scared him ever. He was strong, impossibly so. He had been good. Well, he tried his best. He _was_ good when the forest was free from intruders. It was other people, with their noise and insults that made him do bad things. But was he really bad for standing up for himself? Surely Mama would want him to fight for what was his. He wanted to make her proud.

In the distance he could hear applause and the rising chant of,

"…Felix, Fix-it Felix, Fix-it Felix, Fix-it Felix, Fix-it…"

He clenched his teeth with a snarl, knowing now the building was yet again repaired. He'd had enough. Enough of the Nicelanders on _his_ land, enough of them making him break his promise to his Mama about being good, enough of Felix and his stupid hammer.

Tomorrow night he wasn't holding back.

[To be continued]

[Author's notes: Sorry that took so long. This chapter was the hardest one I've written so far, for a multitude of reasons. I thought I was done with this chapter on Sunday, but when I read it again on Monday morning I realized I really hated it and started over from scratch. I love what came out of the rewrite and feel this explains more about Ralph then my original vision. Hopefully the next chapter wont take as long.]


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Felix held the push broom upside down and poked the awning interior gingerly. The awning normally could handle the rain, but for some reason during last night's sudden downpour around three AM the rain gutter over the building somehow overflowed and spilled out in a torrent that knocked over potted plants and caused the awning to collapse inside out and fill with water.

Carefully he thrust the broom upward, forcing the water gathered inside the covering to spill over the sides and splash to the ground around him. Using the hammer he repaired the inverted frame. He then moved his attention to the upset potted plants on either side of the entrance when Tom stepped out of the building, again carrying bags of garbage. Felix greeted him good morning.

"And I took the liberty of sweeping those bricks up for you." He motioned to the pile in front of the bulldozer. "Hope you don't mind."

"Nah, appreciate the help." Tom tossed the bags in front of the vehicle and Felix watched as he piloted it to the dump to make its daily deposit. When the task was done they both retreated into the building and waited for Ralph.

But he didn't come.

They waited twenty minutes before Tom shrugged and said,

"Guess he's not hungry."

Felix frowned.

"Has he ever missed a meal?"

"Eh, sometimes he comes later, but not usually though."

Felix gazed out the window facing the dump.

"Maybe he's still sore about last night. It's got me worried."

"The invitation to hide inside when he shows up is still on the table."

Felix shook his head.

"I mean, I'm worried about Ralph. I hope he's okay."

Tom stared at him like he had just grown an extra head.

"They guy knocks you off a building, and you're worried about how _he's_ doing?"

Felix twiddled his thumbs.

"Well, last night I got him riled up something fierce, and there's already bad blood between us…" He kept going back to the memory of Ralph's rampage from last night. There was something in the mountain man's wrathful yelling that sounded almost sad. "And I just can't believe that he'd try to do anyone any real harm, not on purpose anyway."

If Ralph had wanted to finish him off as Gene had said, surely he would have done so. Felix remembered the weight on his chest before the Nicelanders had come to his rescue. Ralph could have crushed him, right then and there, but he didn't.

"Call me crazy, but I can't shake the idea that Ralph isn't all bad."

Tom shook his head and gave Felix a pat on the shoulder.

"Buddy, you're a nice guy, but you're crazy."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Up on the roof, Felix carefully inspected the rain gutter but found no obstructions. On one side of the building the gutter had bent from the overabundance of water and was now leaking over the side, a hammer tap fixed that, but he was still at a loss as to why the gutter had overflowed in the first place.

However he did find the same family of ducks from yesterday, again using the rooftop pool.

"C'mon guys, we've already talked this over. You can't stay here, so go back to your lake. Now shoo." He tried to encourage them to go by gently splashing the water with the skimmer pole. They bobbed over the ripples without even a glance in his direction. "Goodness, they're as stubborn as Ralph." He gave the water a good firm smacking with the pole, hoping a few strong waves would get them going. The noise coupled with the choppy water finally got the ducks flying. Unfortunately, they all took off in Felix's direction. He only had seconds to cover his face before he was pelted with wings and beaks. The flock only quacked noisily as they flew off, unfazed by the impact that had knocked Felix down on his rear.

He took a moment to compose himself, cleaning feathers off his hair and clothes.

"Jimminy Jamminy, either those ducks aren't very bright, or they have it out for me."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Felix got to the bottom of the drain spout and found that it had been crushed shut. One of Ralph's pranks that he had missed apparently. He gave the spout a tap with the hammer and suddenly all the water still left in the gutter came gushing out, mostly all over his jeans. Paired with the ducks this wasn't adding up to be the best morning.

He made his way around the building, making sure everything else looked ship shape, but he stopped when his boot got stuck in a sloppy puddle of mud. The thick, wet soil sucked at his shoe as he pulled it out. He inspected the puddle as he wiped his shoe off in the grass. The puddle was huge and it took up an entire section of the grass. The bent part of the rain gutter must have focused the water overflow to this side of the building where it had pooled overnight. It was one of those things the hammer couldn't fix, and it looked like it would take days to dry out. He'd have to warn Gene to avoid this area when the reporter showed up for the photo shoot.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

News about the photo shoot had spread through the building and the Nicelanders were all buzzing through their apartments making sure everything looked their best, just in case the reporter wanted to see inside one of them.

After changing into something dry, Felix joined in by double-checking each hallway for cobwebs, dust, or any other evidence of disorder. He polished the furniture, washed hallway windows, put fresh flowers into the lobby vases and straightened any crooked pictures.

By the time a white van pulled up with The Chronicle's name on the side, the residents were milling about their windows and the front doors of the lobby to watch. Gene straightened his tie and strut to the front doors.

"Here they are. We did it Felix. The building is clean, pristine, and not a single sign of you-know-who."

Felix couldn't help but smile seeing Gene all puffed up with pride. They saw the reporter and photographer step out of the van and head toward the building.

"Good luck, Gene." He held the door open as Gene stepped outside to greet the reporter, a pretty lady in a suit with large shoulder pads and her photographer, a younger man with a goatee.

Felix and the Nicelanders watched from the door as Gene and the reporter talked and the photographer snapped pictures of the building. Some of the Nicelanders whispered about how exciting it was to get this kind of press. After a few moments, Gene turned to the doors and called for Felix with a wave.

He was a little surprised and confused he was being summoned, but he stepped outside and joined the group.

"Here he is, our VIP." Gene smiled introducing Felix to the news people. "Fix-it Felix Jr., the man responsible for the upkeep of this fine building."

"So, _you're_ the son of the renowned Fix-it Felix?" The reporter asked.

Felix blushed as the photographer snapped his picture.

"Well, yes I am." He postured nervously. It was awkward to have the spotlight thrust on him, especially since they were here about the building and not him.

"And we're so honored to have him choose Niceland as his new home." Gene added, posing next to Felix to give the Photographer a prime photo opportunity. The reporter continued her questioning, raising her tape recorder out to Felix.

"How do you like working for the Niceland Apartments?"

Felix paused, thinking this over. While a simple answer would suffice, he didn't want to marginalize his feelings about the place. His mind reflected back to the previous night.

"Well ma'am, when Gene and I first met, he explained to me that Niceland was meant to be a place where people could come and live happily. Now, I've dedicated my life to helping people and I've had a chance to meet the fine folks that live here and honestly, I can't think of another place I'd be happier working." He glanced at Gene and saw the Mayor give him a huge grin. Gene turned to the reporter.

"So, shall we take the grand tour?" He offered. Felix sprinted ahead to hold the door for everyone and smiled as Gene gestured for him to follow them along.

As the tour continued, the reporter asked about urban planning and interior decorators and Felix used his master key to get her and her photographer into the exclusive areas of the building. They were in the penthouse now, with Gene showing off his art collection and going on about how the building had been erected in record time and was complete with all the amenities. The photographer was changing out a roll of film when he sidled up to Felix.

"So, you've been here a few days right?"

"Um, yes. This would be my third day, actually." Felix wasn't sure how he should address the photographer. He certainly wasn't expecting anyone other then the reporter to be asking him questions. The younger man eyed Felix's tool belt, then leaned in a little closer.

"Is it true? He's real, isn't he?"

Felix was confused.

"I'm afraid I'm not following you. Who's real?"

"You know, Wreck-it Ralph."

Felix swallowed hard. He knew that was a topic Gene definitely did _NOT_ want discussed near the press. He grimaced nervously to the point where he was almost grinding his teeth, searching his mind for an appropriate response.

"Come on," The photographer urged, "I've heard all the stories. I know he lives out here. Why else would the Mayor hire somebody with a magic fixing hammer unless it was to use against a supernaturally destructive force?"

"I wouldn't call Ralph supernatural…" Felix clasped his hand over his mouth the moment the words flew out. His heart leapt, he hadn't expected to say that out loud, but he was so taken off guard by this questioning that he accidentally blurted out the first thing that had popped into his head. The photographer's eyes widened with excitement.

"So you _have_ seen him! Is he really a Sasquatch? Has he eaten anyone?"

"Phil, are you taking pictures or quitting to join a tabloid?" The reporter thankfully interrupted. She and Gene were facing the two, the reporter with a stern expression and Gene looking slightly nervous.

"But he's seen Wreck-it Ralph." Phil pointed to Felix, who still had his hand over his mouth.

Gene chuckled and made his way over to the two men.

"It is true, we do have a homeless man squatting on the property, causing occasional…mischief. But he's nothing that can't be handled. Isn't that right Felix?"

"Heheh, No Sasquatch in these woods, no sir." He tried his best to keep calm. The guilt of his spilling the beans dropping to his stomach like a brick, he knew there was damage control to be done.

The reporter looked to Gene and aimed her recorder at him.

"So, what have you done to assure potential residents who do believe that Wreck-it Ralph is a threat that Niceland is safe?"

Gene fiddled with his tie nervously, he wanted his next answer to sound professional, with this particular subject he needed to look good.

"Well, I let all residents, current and future, know that not only is this building up to code with all possible safety features, but we're also close to all local fire departments, police and hospitals…"

"And I've got my hammer." Felix chimed in.

The reporter looked intrigued. "The same magic hammer your father used?"

"Yes ma'am." He pulled it from his tool belt and held it up.

"I told you he had it." The photographer smirked, taking pictures.

Felix smiled for the camera. It had been a bold move to advertise the hammer like this. He had actually surprised himself by doing it. But he wanted to make up for his slip up and help Gene as much as possible.

"That's right. With his magic hammer, Felix here can take care of any and all damage Niceland could possibly face." Gene stated, pouncing on this opportunity.

"Looks like you've thought of everything then." The reporter sounded impressed and Gene soaked up the positive review like a sponge.

"Naturally." He grinned. "Hold it up a little higher, Felix." Felix followed Gene's direction and lifted the hammer up in a charming pose. "And smile more. Show them you're important to the Niceland community."

The sentiment made Felix beam. Important. He was important. Not just the hammer. _Him_. Proof that he had risen out of its shadow. The photographer captured his smiling pose as if he were a supermodel and not a superintendant. His heart fluttered now as it did when the Nicelanders had applauded him last night. His self-esteem was soaring, but he reminded himself not to get a big head over this, even if the idea that he'd be seeing himself in the newspaper tickled him pink.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The rest of the tour continued without incident. The rooftop pool was duck free, the back patio was arranged perfectly, Tom had even moved his bulldozer to the abandoned construction sight so it wouldn't be an eyesore on the property. Every resident was friendly and well behaved. For Gene it was going exactly as he had planned. He kept Felix at his side the whole time, the boy had become a sort of good luck charm for him.

Everything seemed to be wrapping up as the reporter was led back to the front of the building. Her photographer changed out his roll of film and got a shot other three coming out the front doors.

"Well, Mr. Mayor, it looks like your apartment project is a success." The reporter congratulated.

"Niceland deserves only the best." Gene responded with pride. "Safe homes, clean living, and happy people. How a community should be."

The reporter's eye wandered past the side of the building.

"Speaking of clean. What's being done about that pile of trash over there?" She pointed to the dump and to Gene's dismay, the photographer got a few shots of it. He frowned slightly, but he had expected to get this question.

"That installation is only temporary." He dismissed. "It'll be removed … eventually." He smirked then, drawing the news people closer with a hand gesture. "Actually, it will only be there until construction is finished."

"Construction?" Asked the reporter.

"Construction?" Felix repeated.

"That's right," Gene declared, "I'm giving you the exclusive announcement that we're going to be resuming efforts to add more buildings to the area."

Felix heard a cracking of branches in the distance. While Gene's announcement had caught him off guard, his surprise was quickly replaced with a rising dread.

"That's right. With Felix on the job, I'm confident that we'll be starting construction on the next set of apartments in no time…"

"RRRRAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR!"

Like an explosion, Ralph charged out of the woods screaming with rage. The reporter almost fell over with fright. The photographer whipped his camera around and started snapping pictures. Gene looked as if he was about to have a heart attack as his hid behind Felix, who stood there frozen with fear.

"Holy Moly, it's Wreck-it Ralph!" The photographer was shooting off pictures at rapid-fire speed, oblivious to the face that his subject matter looked ready to knock their heads off. "Hey Ralph! Over here!"

Ralph turned his attention away from Gene and Felix, now noticing the scruffy man taking his picture. One look at the camera and he snorted like a bull seeing red. A swipe from his massive hand and the camera was snatched away and crushed into crumpled plastic and metal. He dropped the remains to the ground and scanned the people cowering below him. His fists were clenched, his teeth gnashed together and his face pulled tight with anger. His breath heaved as his expression reddened with frustration as he decided what to do next.

"Ralph…" Felix tentatively stepped forward, hands out in a defensively. His voice was calm and he approached slowly. One hand cautiously hovered above the hammer. Ralph shifted his focus to the handyman. He backed off slightly as Felix came closer. "It's okay." Felix spoke softly, "I know you're upset, but we can talk about this, alright?"

Ralph appeared to be contemplating this, but his brow furrowed a moment later, indicating his displeasure in being patronized.

He snarled, thrusting his fist at the ground in front of Felix. The shockwave made the ground tremble and fracture. Felix leapt aside to avoid flying rocks and soil. Gene and his guests ran for the news van and hid behind it. Ralph saw this and stomped after them.

The three gasped in terror as the van lifted off the ground. Ralph glowered down at them, the van hefted over his head. He saw the reporter's eyes pleading up at him. There was a moment of hesitation as his eyes connected with hers. Then he spotted Gene cowering behind the news people and growled. With a heaving roar he tossed the van directly into the building, creating a huge hole upon impact. Brick and metal came crashing to the ground. Dust and debris filled the air as did the sound of the van's horn blaring ceaselessly as the vehicle landed nose first. The sound gained the attention of the Nicelanders, who peeked out from their windows to behold the wreckage.

Felix stared wide-eyed at it all, his mind barely able to digest what had just happened. He watched as Ralph turned around and headed back into the forest.

"Ralph!" he called out. The giant did not react to his call and disappeared behind the trees. He wanted to follow him. It was obvious that Gene's announcement had triggered this violent reaction and he knew Ralph was only defending his territory. If only they could talk this all out.

"Felix!" He heard Gene yelling for him. He turned and saw the mayor looking frantically at him. He looked over the intense damage the building had taken, the frightened news people, the Nicelanders now filing outside to see and murmur about what had happened.

While he still wanted to confront Ralph, Felix knew his responsibilities towards Niceland came first. He had a duty to uphold, people to take care of, and a building to fix. He slipped the hammer into his hand and rushed back towards the building.

Ralph would have to wait.

[To be continued]

[Author's note] Almost done. I've been pretty busy lately so this one took longer then predicted.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Ralph grunted as he pulled the heavy boulder from the ground. He flung the stone as hard as he could and watched it disappear over the tree line. A few seconds later it landed with a thunderous thud that scattered birds into the air.

The next boulder he found, a much larger one, he punched repeatedly until it cracked and shattered. Taking his anger out on these objects did nothing to dissolve the feeling of burning outrage. More buildings? More people? Had that awful news he had overheard by chance been true?

He had been avoiding the apartments all day; lulling the residents into a false sense of security and conserving his energy for the huge wrecking he had planned for that night. He had even gone as far as not take any of their food waste from the garbage dump. He'd have to wean himself off of it anyway since he'd be getting no more once he scared them all away.

But when he had seen the newspaper's van pull up next to the building through his view within the trees, he had hung close to the perimeter of the forest to see just what was going on. When he saw Gene and the reporter talking, he was just close enough to overhear the announcement that had set off the powder keg of fury inside him.

There was no way he'd let it happen. Even if he had to destroy every construction vehicle, crush every brick, break every board they brought onto his land. He wouldn't let them get even a foundation laid. He wouldn't let them get passed him as they had months ago.

He sat down amongst the rocks along the riverbank. The river was swollen from last night's rain and it crashed over itself in bulging waves. He plucked up a fair sized stone and tossed it into the water with a plunk. The water flowed, unaffected by his stone tossing, birdsong filled the air and sunlight shined down into the clearing. He sat there, composing himself, listening to the sounds of nature that couldn't be found near the apartment building. This calmed him. Not just because of the inherent soothing effect of the peaceful surroundings but it also reminded him of the need to implement self-control. He possessed the ability to destroy anything and he could easily destroy this clearing and ones like it with his mindless rampages. The forest was where he grew up, it was his home and home to creatures that couldn't defend themselves. Plus, mankind had proven itself adept at destroying nature without any help from him. The least he could do was stop himself with his freakish strength from doing any lasting damage to this dwindling wonder.

He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, allowing the sounds of the forest to surround him. Birds tweeted, squirrels rustled through branches, the river flowed. Off in the distance some animal called out. Ralph couldn't make out what it was, the call it made sounded familiar, but it was too far off to identify. When he opened his eyes he noticed, almost hidden in the trees across the river, a dear was wandering about. It entered the clearing and quietly grazed, not noticing him. He stared at it in silent awe. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen one. Ever since the building had been erected, wildlife such as this had become a rare sight indeed. The deer lapped at the water from the river, regarding Ralph as if he were just another boulder. The sound of a branch snapping nearby caused the deer to lift its head, its ears twitching. Both it and Ralph turned their heads as something approached through the trees.

"Aw, fiddlesticks."

Ralph frowned with returning anger. Now he knew what that strange animal noise had been.

Felix muttered to himself as he detangled his foot from a batch of long, thorny weeds. He entered the clearing and saw the river and the deer and smiled, "Oh, my land…" He was so enraptured by the beauty of his surroundings that it took him a few seconds to realize that Ralph was only a hundred feet away and closing the gap.

"Oh! Ralph. I've been looking for…"

"What are you doing here?!" Ralph demanded in a booming voice that sent the deer fleeing back into the woods. Any calming effect the forest had claimed over him suddenly flushed away and a boiling rage had filled the vacancy. Felix shrank back as he stomped over.

"Well, I was kinda hoping we could talk." The handyman's voice squeaked.

"You don't belong here." Ralph's voice was deep with a threatening gloom. "Get out now."

Felix held his ground, but didn't look any less nervous.

"Ralph, I know you're angry about what you heard back at the apartments. And I agree that Gene's being a bit hasty about adding more buildings. Now, I'm sure you're not keen on loosing anymore land, and that's why I feel we should all sit down together and discuss…"

"You're an idiot." Ralph bluntly interrupted, his expression dull and uninterested in whatever peace talks Felix had in mind. Felix stared back dumbfounded. Obviously this was the first time anyone had called him that right to his face.

"Heh, excuse me?" he fumbled to comprehend.

"You don't get it." Ralph began. "You think you've got the answer to everything, don't you? You think people can solve all their problems with a tea party and some cookies? Well the real world's a lot more complicated than the one you came from little man. I have my own way of solving my problems and I don't need or want any help from you." Ralph stared Felix down. How could somebody the Nicelander's adored, who attracted the attention of the press, who had an aura of being absolutely perfect, know anything about his broken life, or what was best for him? "You have no idea what it's like. I bet every time you had a problem all you needed to do was whip out that stupid…"

He went silent with a thought. That Hammer. He gazed down at it twinkling in the sunlight as it hung from Felix's belt. Without it Felix couldn't fix the building. _Any_ building. Gene would have to give up his plans if he only a normal handyman on the job. Felix's eyes followed Ralph's and at that moment, the two had the exact same thought.

"Ralph, no!" Felix reflexively grasped the hammer to his side and leapt away as Ralph reached down to grab it. The juggernaut gave chase as Felix rushed into the forest, running as fast as he could over the uneven terrain. Ralph was deceptively fast and he knew the forest better, he was keeping up and made several attempts to snatch Felix up in his giant hands. Felix jumped about, avoiding each swipe, mentally berating himself for not taking up track and field in high school.

The trees got thicker and Felix found it harder to squeeze himself through any openings or gaps in the foliage. Ralph on the other hand had no problems knocking through anything that got in his path.

Felix made the mistake of looking over his shoulder and the slight change of his momentum gave Ralph the opportunity to thrust out his arm and pin Felix against a large tree. Felix struggled but Ralph held him tight. He wondered if Ralph could feel his heart pounding in his palm, because he certainly could feel it thumping inside his chest.

"Ralph, please." Felix gulped, looking up at the giant pleadingly. "Don't take my hammer."

Ralph leered at the glimmering tool. He'd do better then take it. He'd _wreck_ it. And if it couldn't be wrecked, he'd then he'd throw it in the deepest lake he could find, or something else that would insure that Felix would never find it again.

"What's the matter Felix, afraid of becoming an average Joe?"

Felix didn't find Ralph's response encouraging.

"Please," he continued to beg, "I don't care if I never fix with it again. But this hammer, it… it was a gift from my dad…and it's all I've got left of him."

Ralph faltered, a flash of uncertainty overtaking his expression. He took one look into Felix's eyes and knew the handyman wasn't lying. He let out a frustrated grunt and looked away.

Felix felt Ralph's grip on him loosen and he dropped to the ground. Confused by this sudden mercy he stayed still and watched Ralph pick up a large rock.

"If I see you in here again," The larger man warned, "_this_ is your head." He made a fist and effortlessly crushed it into rubble. "Understand?"

Wordlessly, Felix nodded, then turned and ran as fast as he could. He didn't stop until he crossed the threshold onto Niceland property. Only then did he allow himself to catch his breath. He hunched over, one hand clasped over his chest, thankful he hadn't inherited his dad's weak heart or surely it would have given out on him after such an ordeal. His other hand slid over the hammer, still in its spot on his belt. The fact that it was still in his possession astonished him.

Had he finally been able to appeal to Ralph's better nature? Why would Ralph care about the sentimental attachment he had to his hammer? What was it exactly that caused Ralph's unexpected change of heart?

At this point he was too exhausted to think about it anymore. It was another Ralph mystery to add to the ever growing metal list. He pulled out his hammer out and held it close to his chest, thanking his lucky starts he was still able to do so.

[To be continued]

[Author's note] I'm feeling in the groove again. The story's almost done, wow. Since I'm nearing the ending I've been thinking about having a Q&A session after the final chapter, so if anyone has any questions for me about this story or anything else feel free to ask.]


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

It was early in the evening when Gene spotted Felix outside at the edge of the property, sitting with his back against a tree, his hammer dangling from his hand.

"There you are." The mayor called, strolling over.

Felix stared at the ground, the events of the afternoon still fresh in his mind.

Right after Ralph had made his brief but impactful appearance during the interview, Felix got right to work on restoring the news van and the building. The reporter was visibly impressed by his talent and the speed the hammer allowed him to repair everything. The photographer was eagerly snapping a lot of pictures of him in his element.

The camera. It had been the first thing he had fixed. Holding the newly restored device in his hands he found himself with a moral dilemma. He knew he had to give it back, but it contained pictures that no doubt would bring the wrong kind of attention to Niceland. It would also bring unwanted attention to Ralph who was already emotionally volatile. Discreetly, he opened the compartment containing the film and pulled out every inch of exposed material that had spooled on the spindle. Once the sunlight had overexposed the film, he turned the winding mechanism until the roll was set to the next unexposed frame. It was the first and only time he had ever destroyed anything on purpose, he felt horrible for doing it, but he knew it was the right thing to do. His later encounter with Ralph in the woods had only confirmed that feeling.

Felix pulled himself back to the present and looked up at Gene.

"Was the reporter sore about what happened with Ralph?" he asked.

He had seen Gene talking to the reporter as he was fixing the building, but was too far from the conversation to hear. And once the repairs were made, he hadn't stuck around long enough other then to say his farewells and then go find the wrecker.

The mayor only smiled at him. "Today is our lucky day Felix. I managed to convince the reporter that our friend Ralph was helping us out with a PR stunt, in order to show off your range of skills."

Felix blinked with surprise, jumping to his feet.

"Really? You did that? So, they're going to give us a good review?"

"Better then that." Gene grinned, "We're getting a two page spread in this Sunday's paper."

This was exciting news. A two page story in the Sunday edition was nothing to sneeze at. But there were still details that kept Felix from celebrating.

"Are they going to say anything about Ralph in the article, then?"

Gene couldn't hide his smirk. "The Chronicle thankfully doesn't indulge its readers with tabloid fair." He frowned after a brief thought. "Though that photographer might try to sell those photos to one…" He perked up after another moment, "But who would want Ralph's ugly mug on the cover of anything reputable?"

Felix let out a tiny nervous chuckle and sucked in his lower lip. Feeling ashamed, he decided to keep his act of sabotage to himself. Let Gene think that the paper had decided to forgo using any of the Ralph photos rather then learn his handyman was capable of such heinous acts. He'd find a way to make it up to the Photographer somehow.

Pushing his guilt aside, there was still one more matter to discuss.

"Yeah. Um, Gene. I don't want you taking this the wrong way but…" He removed his cap and began twisting it in his hands. "Maybe you should consider postponing the new construction until _after_ Ralph's been taken care of."

Gene momentarily looked annoyed by Felix's suggestion, but took a good look at the superintendant's earnest expression and sighed.

"Felix, I know you're worried about Ralph. I am too. But I've put off this project so many times it's making me look bad. I have critics to put at ease, voters to satisfy, its not easy being a politician." He moved closer to Felix and put a hand on his shoulder. "But that's why I need your support on this. I told the reporter that construction would start by the end of the year, that's plenty of time for you to handle Ralph. If anyone can stop him, it's you."

"Me?" Felix pointed to himself a little dumbfounded. Gene's expression only deepened.

"You're his even match. Just last night you were keeping up with him, brick for brick. Well, until he knocked you off the building, but even _then_ he couldn't stop you. And today, in front of the press, you jumped into action to protect us. You're braver then you realize and he knows it. If we keep pushing back he'll have no choice but to leave, but I need you to be the one leading the charge. You can do this. You're the hero we've been waiting for."

Felix stammered, "I don't know Gene…"

Gene took Felix's fidgeting hands and held them steady.

"I believe in you Felix."

There was a moment where Felix could only stare at Gene's hopeful face. The Mayor was putting a lot of faith in him. He turned to look at the building, knowing the Nicelanders inside all saw him as something special: the someone who could fix their problems. He began to recall the speech he had made to Gene the previous night and the declaration he had made for the reporter today. Niceland was his home and home to many he now held as friends. He had made it his responsibility to protect it and them. He had preached following dreams, and it was his dream to live up to the promise he had made to his father.

Gene saw Felix's expression shift to a serious stare.

"So, are you with me?"

Felix pulled his cap on with determination.

"Yes sir! You can count on me."

Gene lit up like a light bulb.

"That's my handyman, true to his word." He clapped Felix on the back and checked his watch. "Well, time I headed to Don's apartment for those celebratory drinks. Sure you won't join us?"

Felix scratched the back of his neck with uncertainty.

"Actually Gene, I still got some stuff on my mind and I just want some time to myself to sort it all out. But maybe I'll drop by later."

Gene sighed. "All right. See you later Felix."

Felix watched as Gene hopped up the front steps and into the building. Now alone he began to wander with no real destination in mind. That familiar feeling of dread was creeping up on him again and he tried forcing it away. He couldn't let himself worry so much. Gene wasn't letting Ralph rattle him anymore, it was time he did the same. Yes, they were stirring up a pot of trouble by aggravating Ralph's territorial nature, but legally Ralph had no ties to the land anymore. He had tried every method of peaceful negotiation but Ralph had made it crystal clear he had no desire to handle this in a peaceful manner. He had run out of ideas to get through to the mountain man and honestly, Felix felt his hands were tied.

Felix paused, noticing he had wandered as far as the abandoned construction site. He looked it all over as the last bits of sunlight fell below the tree line and he imagined what it all might look like once it was finished. He envisioned a place not unlike his home town. Rows of homes full of people, a place where people could start fresh and make families. Where children would run around freely, playing in the streets. Where neighbors all knew one another and no one feared for their property or safety.

If Ralph got his way, none of this could happen. As the street lamps started flickering on a new feeling began to rise in Felix. A resolve he hadn't felt since that first night in Niceland when he knew in his heart what Ralph was doing was wrong. Progress could not be stopped because Ralph was too stubborn to listen to reason. Diplomacy hadn't worked and Felix knew, as much as he disliked direct confrontation, if he was going to fix this problem, if he was going to stop Ralph, he would have to fight.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The clinking of glasses rang over the easy listening record playing with lowered volume in the background as Gene, Don, Tom and a few other Nicelander men chatted away after toasting to The Chronicle and the future of Niceland.

"I can't believe it. A P.R. Stunt? And they bought it?" Roy asked, flabbergasted.

"Honest truth." Gene defended.

"You're smooth Gene, real smooth." Tom complemented.

"I wasn't elected for a third term on looks alone." The politician tooted his own horn.

"I'M GONNA WRECK IT!"

Gene nearly chocked on his Martini when he heard Ralph's battle cry outside. He glanced out the window into the night where the hulking wrecker was stomping towards the building.

"He's early!" Don froze with alarm.

"This doesn't change anything." Gene said, leaping from his armchair, "Just lay low and he'll be done before we know it."

He and the other men got down on the floor, hiding behind chairs and the coffee table. They were still and quiet as the floor beneath them trembled with Ralph's every blow. The rumble of falling brick and the tinkling of broken glass were the only sounds besides the record player which skipped with every powerful vibration Ralph caused. The sounds of destruction grew nearer and it seemed that Ralph was being sure to destroy every inch that existed on the face of the building.

Then, very suddenly, it stopped.

Gene lifted his head, confused by the sudden silence. He looked to the other men only to see them staring over him with looks of terror on their faces. Slowly turning he saw the source of their fear. Ralph's entire bulk was eclipsing the window nearest him, and the abomination was glaring through the glass directly at him.

Before the mayor could react, a giant hand smashed through the window, knocking over the chair and the record player and grasped around him. Gene was choked with fear as he was lifted up and out the pulverized opening.

Ralph held the smaller man up at eye level, smirking at the frightened expression on the normally haughty politician's face.

"Hello, Gene." He said with an unsettling calm, "I've been looking for you."

[To be continued]

[Author's notes] One more chapter to go! Never thought it'd be this long. I'm still looking to do a Q&A if anyone is interested in sending me questions. You can ask about anything. It can be about this story, my writing style, or anything else within reason. PM me or put the question in your review. Looking forward to it.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Felix rushed down the road as fast as his legs could carry him. He had heard the crashing coming from the direction of the apartment building and knew immediately what it was. He reached the property line just as the sounds of demolition had eerily fallen silent. That's when he saw Ralph with Gene in his grip. Forgetting his fatigue he could only think about how he didn't want Gene or anyone else getting hurt.

"Ralph!" He shouted, hoping to gain the giant's attention.

Ralph barely turned to acknowledge the pest trying to interrupt him.

"Oh, look Gene, your favorite tool is here."

"Felix!" The mayor called out desperately.

"Ralph, you put him down." There was no quavering in his voice, no gentility, not even a "please", Felix's tone was dead serious.

This time Ralph gave Felix his full attention, turning to stare down at the handyman.

"I tried things your way Felix," he shrugged, flailing his free arm around as he spoke, ignoring the obvious distress it was giving Gene. "I gave Gene here one last chance to take his building and get off my land. But_ he's_ refusing to _cooperate_."

Gene recovered his composure and scowled.

"Like I'd ever negotiate with a ruffian like _you_." He huffed, momentarily forgetting his perilous position.

Ralph gave him a little squeeze to remind him which of them had the upper hand.

"So, as always, he's forced me to take matters into my own hands."

Gene grunted, uselessly wiggling to get out of Ralph's fist.

Despite the declining situation, Felix did not let panic slip into his voice.

"Now listen to me Ralph, I know you're sore with Gene, but he hired _me_ to deal with you. So _I'm_ the one you have to Hokey-pokey with now. Let. Him. Go."

Ralph thought about this a moment, then shrugged. It really didn't matter to him at this point. He'd only be trading one annoying pip-squeak for another. Callously, he tossed Gene aside. Felix tensed, reaching for his hammer. Thankfully Gene landed on top a row of bushes, and while covered with leaves and twigs, he was safe and unharmed.

Ralph continued his climb, getting to the fifth floor and punching a massive hole into the building. Here he stood, still glaring at Felix.

"I'm taking this building down." He announced, "Tonight."

His hand still on the hammer, Felix nodded. He knew it was coming to this. This was the only thing that got through to Ralph, and through some divine providence he still had the tool that could make his plan possible. Destiny, it seemed, had led him to this moment.

"Wreck if you must, Ralph." He stated calmly, making his way to the building "But, I'll have you know that no matter what you wreck, no matter how much you wreck it…"

He held his hammer aloft, letting it gleam in the moonlight, a proud smile forming on his face.

"I can fix it!"

Ralph snarled inwardly. He had known that he would regret letting Felix keep that infuriating hammer. But it would be a moot point once he reduced the building to a pile of dust. He would then deal with Felix and his hammer for good. He continued to pound the building, busting windows with the vibrations of his blows, breaking loose bricks from mortar, knocking huge chunks of building to the ground.

Felix rushed into action. Hammer in hand he swung at the cracked walls and fractured windows, repairing the damage as fast as he could. This time he was intensely mindful of where debris was falling and jumped from the path of the bricks and glass Ralph was breaking free.

Ralph looked down once he started hearing the unmistakable sound of the magic hammer. He glowered as he spotted Felix hopping around, repairing his damage with blows of golden light.

"So, you're up to this again, are you?" He frowned. Fine, if Felix was going to insist on getting in his way, it would be his mistake to make. Ralph no longer worried or cared if he hurt the handyman. With that hammer in play he could give Felix his worst, and he was ready to do just that.

He grunted loudly and punched the concrete he was standing on. More bricks rattled from the walls. Felix jumped out of the way just as he was finished with the last window in the row. Hopping up to the next level, he ignored Ralph's irritated noises and continued working.

Window after window glass came back together like puzzle pieces magnetically drawn to one another. Cracks vanished and bricks spontaneously appeared where ones had gone missing. Seeing Felix ascend to the next floor and speedily closing the gap between them, Ralph doubled his efforts and smashed the building with such ferocity that it kicked up a huge cloud of brick dust around him.

The hailstorm of bricks rained down at Felix. He managed to dodge backwards to the very edge of the last window ledge and kept his balance there until the deluge past. Nimbly he leapt around the next wave of debris Ralph sent his way, timing the plummeting rubble to get to the next set of broken windows.

Ralph saw Felix was ready to advance to the next floor and made his way higher to put more distance between them. Felix took this moment to catch his breath. Glancing down he noticed that he had surpassed the height he had been at last night when Ralph had knocked him off the building. Now tonight, it appeared he had Ralph on the run. A smile turned his mouth, he gripped his hammer and jumped to the next level.

Ralph continued to thrust his fist through the walls of the building. He punched windows, stomped shutters, sent more bricks falling over Felix. When he reached the next overhang, he looked below to see how the handyman was fairing. To his amazement and frustration, the little fixer was still keeping up and actually _smiling_ through the whole ordeal. Letting out a roar, he punched the overhang with both fists with a force that sent the lower half of his body into the air. He gave his punches all the strength he could concentrate into them. He smirked as some of his loosened bricks smashed some windows that Felix had already repaired. The repairman only turned around and mended them again right away, still smiling.

Felix had found his stride. Even with broken shutters and falling bricks in his path, he jumped about with all the confidence of an acrobat on the high-wire. It was as if some invisible force was guiding him safely up the building. Adrenaline pumping through him, he made his way higher and higher. With each floor Ralph stepped up his game, but Felix did not back down.

At several points during his climb he'd spot a window open and a Nicelander would call out to him:

"Great job Felix!" or

"Keep it up Felix!" were shouted over the smashes and crashes. The encouragement made him even more determined to get the job done.

Fists pounding, hammer striking, the odd looking battle of wills escalated until ultimately it led to the roof of the building. Nicelanders leaned out their windows, straining to hear what was going on.

Ralph stared Felix down, furious the building had been fixed right out from under him. Felix stared back, not willing to be intimidated. That look reminded Ralph of what Felix had said the previous night:

_As long as you keep wrecking, I'll keep fixing._

So there they were; a showdown between an unstoppable force and an unmovable object. A David versus Goliath moment reaching its peak.

"You've got some nerve trying to stop me." Ralph grunted, breaking the tense silence.

"Well, _you've_ got some nerve trying to destroy other people's homes." Felix replied. There was a hint of pity in his eyes as he glanced up at Ralph. "You know, it doesn't have to be this way." He wanted to give Ralph one last chance. The Nicelanders were good people, why wouldn't Ralph even try to be nice? As long as he had his hang-ups, nothing could get better.

"You don't know anything." Ralph retorted curtly. For all his optimism and positive world outlook, Felix was clueless. The Nicelanders didn't want him, so he didn't want them, plain as day. They weren't worth the effort. The handyman would never understand. Ralph snarled as he raised his fists, "Maybe if I beat some sense into you…" He stomped closer to Felix.

Felix stood his ground, clenching the hammer tight, preparing himself for the worst.

Suddenly the door to the roof access flung open and Felix found himself flanked on both sides by several Nicelanders.

"Don't you even _dare_ touch him!" Deanna commanded.

"Yeah, leave him alone!" Added Marty.

The other Nicelanders swarmed angrily around Ralph, shouting at him. Last night's little mob hadn't been some fluke, they had genuinely found the courage to stand up to Ralph in order to defend Felix from harm. Ralph drew back as the smaller citizens advanced on him. He was more surprised than afraid. He had been so used to them cowering in fear of him. Now they chased him like a pack of Chihuahuas. They pounded their fists against his legs, some tried stomping on his toes, while others continued yelling at him. He stumbled and tried swiping at them.

"Hey, get off!" He demanded, realizing they had forced him to the edge of the rooftop. Felix could only stare at the spectacle in disbelief and also a little pride. They had really worked up the gumption to band together and take on a common enemy.

Ralph snarled, having had enough of this pestering. He raised his fists over his head, ready to slam the roof and any Nicelander foolish enough to not get out of the way. But in that same moment, the Nicelanders all pushed Ralph at once. The simultaneous movements caused the top-heavy wrecker to wobble backwards, horribly off balance. His enormous weight crashed through the brick barrier that blocked the edge of the roof and he fell straight down with a holler.

Felix's pride turned to fear as he heard a heavy thud and a wet splat.

"Oh my land!" He rushed to the edge and looked down, dreading what he'd see.

On the ground, Ralph lay face down in the large mud puddle Felix had discovered earlier that day. The superintendant let out a sigh of relief as the wrecker lifted his mud-caked face and attempted to haul himself out of the muck, unharmed but slipping in the slick sludge and falling face first a second time.

Next to him, Felix heard one of the Nicelanders chuckle. Then another tried to hold back a titter. But as they all watched Ralph struggle to get up, only to further slip and slide and cover himself more with mud in such a humiliating fashion, the entire crowd was quickly roaring with laughter.

Ralph looked up, scowling at the hecklers as wet mud dripped off his face.

"Ha! That's what you get for messing with Niceland!" Gene shouted down at him. "Next time we find you up here, we'll _throw _you off!"

"We did it!" Roy exclaimed.

"That was exciting." Rhonda smiled.

"We couldn't have done it without you Felix." Don cheered.

Felix blushed, "Well, uh, it was really a group effort in the end…" he stammered.

"Nonsense." Gene corrected him. "If it weren't for you, we'd never think of standing up to him. You're a hero!"

Felix smiled bashfully, then blushed even deeper when Mary suddenly hopped up and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you so much Felix." She gushed. "I'm going to bake you a pie!"

"Pie? This guy deserves a metal!" Gene retorted. He put a hand on Felix's shoulder. "We're proud of you, m'boy."

_Proud of you_. Those words repeated in Felix's mind, but this time in his father's voice. It was one of the last things he had said to his son; "_you make me proud."_

He looked down at the hammer still in his hand. His hammer. He had done what his father had asked of him. He had used it for people who truly needed it. He had exceeded his own expectations and risen to a challenge that three days ago he didn't know he'd be capable of handling. He looked around at the Nicelanders celebrating their victory on the rooftop and was humbled by the knowledge that he had given them the hope they needed to stand up to Ralph. With this hammer he could keep giving them that hope.

Out of the corner of his eye, Felix noticed the still broken brick barrier at the edge of the roof. Giving the bricks a quick fix-up tap he happened to peer over the side and caught eyes with Ralph.

The wrecker stood there, next to the mud puddle, still dripping with filth, staring grimly upwards at the building.

The two held their gaze on each other for a long, tense moment. In that instant, Felix realized that this was not the end of anything, this was only the beginning. Ralph's angry glare told him he'd be back tomorrow and every day after that until one of them gave up.

Felix stared back as stoic as during their faceoff on the roof. He had accepted the challenge. Content that his message was received, Ralph turned and lumbered back into the woods.

Felix turned his attention back to the Nicelanders and let his mood brighten. Seeing their overjoyed faces, hearing how grateful they were to have him and his help, tonight he felt like a winner. Slipping his hammer into his tool belt, he rejoined their group as they invited him to the penthouse for a celebration.

Sure, he'd play Ralph's game, for as long as necessary. Maybe one day the large man would see how silly it was to carry on like a child having a tantrum every night, but until then he'd hold Ralph in check for the sake of the Nicelanders, his new friends.

He'd keep them safe.

He'd fix their homes.

He'd be their hero.

[The End]

OMG you guys, it's done! I'm really happy and proud I got this done. This is the longest fanfiction I think I've ever written (seriously I used up an ENTIRE notebook on this thing.) I am going to post my answers to the Q&A later this weekend, so you still have time to ask something if you haven't already. Bye for now.


	15. Q&A

THE Q&A SECTION

Again, I just want you all to know how happy I am that all of you stuck with this story and gave such wonderful feedback and support. I never expected it to be this long or go into such detail. What started as a something I scribbled on a piece of scrap paper during a slow day at work has turned into one of the longest and most detailed things I've ever written and I have all of you to thank to keep me going through the whole thing. Really, when I started I thought, "Oh, this'll be three or four chapters, tops." Then it kept getting more intimate with Felix, his past, and his relationships with the Nicelanders. Then when Ralph finally showed up, I was like, "well, can't ignore him now" even though my original intent was to solely focus on Felix. By the time I got to writing about Ralph's Mama, I realized I had a literary Cy-bug on my hands; growing rapidly, eating all my time but impossible to ignore.

So to thank you all for your support during this long haul I'm here to answer all the questions you've asked me over the course of the story.

First of all I've been asked about where to find any pictures of Felix's dad.

Deviantart's Chill13 and Limey 404 have some great examples (you'll have to search limey's tumblr page since the pic isn't on the deviant account. But look at all the art anyway because Limey's AMAZING!) I tried to include the links but it's not working for some reason, but they're worth the search.

When writing the story these pics were what I had in mind every time I wrote a scene with Felix Senior in it.

**Hippo Scuba** asked a couple so here they are:

1) "How did you develop your writing style?"

Well, to start I've been writing fanfiction since I was in the third grade and knew from that moment I wanted to be a writer for TV and movies. I continued writing as a hobby throughout school and started publishing my work on various fansites. One site had a forum where you could co-author stories in a "round robin" type of deal where each writer takes a section of the story at a time and that really taught me how to write on the fly and be adaptive, sadly sites like that are prone to infestation by Trolls, but I made some great friends on that site too and I still RP with them at times. I always loved reading dictionaries and Thesauruses to learn new words and love hearing clever usages of language that I tried to emulate.

Eventually I went to college for Television and Screen Writing where I learned from some professors who did that kind of writing professionally, so I got to hone my craft under some of the best in the industry. Even though I never got a career in TV or movies I still value what I learned.

Personally I always favored using words to set a mood or paint a picture. Because I have Asperger's syndrome my thinking is very visual and detail oriented, so I like to be descriptive as possible when trying to pass on what I'm thinking to others so they get the whole picture that I'm seeing in my mind. In college I learned when to restrain myself so that my descriptions don't get overbearing so the reader gets right to the point, but still gives them all the details they need.

2)"What's the process you go about when actually sitting down to write something?"

Usually I write ideas down as soon as I get them. I have dozens of notebooks lying around my apartment I use to write down ideas, then dozens more to write the stories that come out of these ideas. Usually I like to break the idea down into moments until I have a "story board" of sorts, something college reinforced in me. Sometimes I write these moments down, sometimes, like with this particular story, I don't but I had them in mind the entire time I was writing.

I always write my story on paper first, chapter by chapter. I find that when I do this I can always edit more fluidly then with the computer because I can see things I crossed out and re-evaluate them, or add things to the margins. I'm always editing down to the last minute until the story feels right. I was even editing this story as I was typing it on the computer from the paper version. Plus, having my notebook everywhere I go is easier then taking my laptop everywhere. (I don't own a tablet and my laptop is over ten years old and the battery sucks. That and I'm old school, literally, I'm Ralph's age.)

When I really need motivation for a scene, I go to Youtube and watch a clip from the movie (or tv show, depending on the fanfiction) that I think relates to the scene. Once the character's voices are in my head, writing for them is much easer.

3) "How do you like describing things? Be it, a certain scene, or what's going through the character's mind? How do you set 'the mood'?"

I kinda covered this in the above answers, but to get specific I always like to play out a scene in my head as if I were watching a movie. Like I mentioned, that's how my brain works, so I describe things as they are happening moment for moment in a way that can translate what I'm seeing to the people I'm communicating with. It allows me to describe things fluidly in action but I don't like bogging people down with too much description.

**Spoons and forks:**

1) "If you could change any aspect of this story, what would you have done differently?"

I think I would have done everything involving the reporter differently. She was a plot device really, and honestly I pulled a lot of what she and her photographer did out of thin air with no real idea what I'd do with them leading up to the moment Gene made his announcement. I rewrote their chapter several times with the reporter changing personalities several times and I still feel like she came out bland.

2) "Is there any chance of expecting anything more from you for the Wreck-It Ralph fandom after this story's ended?"

Oh, don't worry. I do have plans to stay in this fandom for a little while longer. I won't do something this time consuming though, maybe a few one-shots here and there, unless some great, epic idea comes to me.

**Ashblossom**:

1. Was this story installed in the games hard-drive, or did it really happen?

I think Felix and Ralph have a basic memory of these events happening in their game after they got plugged in. It's as real to them as Calhoun's memories are to her, but since their game is more basic, it may not be as detailed as I told it.

Really I was going for emulating the feel of the video game novelizations I read as a kid. They were kinda hokey but they got young gamers reading, which this present-day librarian can appreciate.

2. Are you going to be writing other WiR Fan-Fics after this one?

See above

3. How long does it take you on average to type a whole chapter?

It really depends on my muse and how busy I am with work and my personal obligations.

4. I know this is a kinda out of way question; but can Felix fix himself with his hammer if he gets a cold or a flu?

Hmm, I'd say, in my headcanon anyway, that Felix can only repair things that are physically broken, by "resetting" them back to their original state. Things that are more natural like a deformity or defect like his father's heart condition or something caused by a virus or bacteria can't be fixed by the hammer. He can't bring back the dead, or regrow a lost limb, but he can heal someone who is injured and capable of surviving if help gets to them in time.

**Fixitgal09:**

1) When did the arcade game come into place? Was this the world inside the game?

Originally I planned to have a final chapter where it would be revealed to be that this story was one Felix was telling to Calhoun. But after I added Ralph's perspective to the story, that was changed to Felix coming to realize the world he was in was only a game. I had planned on leaving little clues of this throughout the story too including him finding the train station but it being closed off. But I felt that was little awkward so I decided to just leave it as it ended and let the reader decide where it goes from here. But since you asked, the game starts the day after this story ends.

This was mostly me telling you all my headcanon for how I see the character's personal histories. Is it AU or game canon? The way I see it, it's a little of both.

That's it. I hope I got to everyone's questions. Again it really made my day to see how everyone liked this story, and it blew my mind that some of you even announced you'd take this story as your own official canon. Also someone spotted had this story on their fanfic recommendation list and sent me a PM about it. That REALLY blew my mind and I had to contain myself from fangirl squealing since I read that email while at work. I can only hope you're letting other WIR fans know about this story, cause I'd love to know what they think.

Until next time,

Happy reading and happy writing.

-DanniB


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